wallflower75

I just finished with Restaurant Wars, and ahhhh...now I get the Hosea hate. I'll just bet he regrets making out with Leah on the couch. More like it suddenly hit him that, hello, there are cameras everywhere, and they've recorded this and will likely show it to the world. And then he'll be in deep water, so no, baby, I really didn't mean it and I don't know what happened and I'm not that kind of guy. Whatever. And whatever to her, too, with her "I've never cheated on a boyfriend before." Ugh, ugh, ugh. As for Stefan...my memories of Seattle are getting dimmer, although I do plan to rewatch the seasons I've seen after I finish with the ones I haven't, but I don't remember him being quite so much of a jerk in that season--except with John, who frankly was just as big a jerk, not that that's an excuse. Well, that and his behavior during the Restaurant Wars debacle, which got eclipsed by the fallout of what happened with Kristen and Josie.

And that's where he lost me. They were in a dead heat going into the finale, and when they got there, Richard choked, Stephanie didn't, so Stephanie won. There's no guarantee that Richard would've won if he hadn't choked. Now if Lisa had won, I could see why Richard would feel he was robbed. But losing to Stephanie wasn't the great injustice Richard implied it was when he came back for All-Stars. I just finished up the season 5 episode centered around Gail's bridal shower, and...I can see where Stefan's attitude rubbed people the wrong way. He was arrogant, bossy, and a bit of a jerk. I got a kick out of the judges loving Jeff's sorbet (which Stefan pooh-poohed) but not caring as much for Stefan's dish. And I can't figure out if his thing with Jamie was him playing around or if he genuinely thought he might stand a chance with her. I have no real opinion of Hosea at the moment--I do expect that to change. I think Carla is adorable, but I'm surprised that she's done so poorly up to this point. And speaking of Jamie, while I understand it must be frustrating being so close but never winning, I was kind of pissed that she sucked the joy out of Ariane's win in the bridal shower challenge with her sulking.

So I've reached the end of season 4...and thank God I knew who won, because if I hadn't, I would've been terrified that it was going to be Lisa! I rolled my eyes when she said "Congratulations would be nice, you're making me feel like you think the better chef went home" to Richard and Stephanie after Antonia was eliminated. Her perception was correct--clearly they thought Antonia was better, and they were disappointed that she was gone. I suppose congratulating Lisa for making the finale was the right thing to do, but would half-hearted congratulations make you feel better when you know what they really thought? It wouldn't make me feel better. Although--I wasn't crazy about Richard's confessional comment that "it's the bronze medal, big deal." As for Richard's reaction, I agree with biakbiak that he was simply pissed about losing, period. I don't think Stephanie being a woman had much to do with it, if anything at all. In fact, this might get me tossed from this thread, but I don't know that I saw anything super-objectionable about Richard in this season. (It could be my serious dislike for Lisa getting in the way.) If I'd seen this season before watching All-Stars, I might've been more disappointed that he lost the first time. And if he hadn't turned into an entitled jerk, I might've rooted for him to win the All-Stars season. Alas, he became a jerk, so I rooted for Antonia. And now on to Season 5...was Stefan really that big a villain? Because this may also get me tossed from the thread, but I kinda sorta liked him occasionally in Seattle.

Whoa. I didn't especially care for Lisa before the Serve and Protect challenge, but after it...I get the hatred now. Bitching because she thinks someone sabotaged her (when the rice wasn't the only thing wrong with her dish) and then throwing Andrew under the bus by pointing out what he did wrong...urgh. And what kills me is her attitude when the judges ask her why she thinks she's in the bottom, and she's all, "I don't know, you tell me." Uh, hello? Woman up and admit you know your dish was flawed! Did you honestly think that badly-cooked rice was going to earn you a spot in the winner's circle for this one? One of the things that soured me on Ed from Texas was in the beginning when he laughed at the girl who told him she was a chef on a cruise ship. Granted, his attitude toward her paled in comparison to the Mean Girls and their treatment of Beverly later on down the road, but it still stuck with me.

More than halfway through now...I really like Stephanie. She seems sweet and down-to-earth, and doesn't seem to have an overinflated ego like many chefs. Richard keeps telling the camera how witty and whimsical he is, which is sometimes an indication that one isn't those things. (Although I will admit to chuckling when he talked about how Antonia bonded with the little boy during the Common Thread challenges and said, "It makes me want to go out and have a bunch of little Blaises.") It's been a while since I saw All-Stars, but did Dale say at one point in that season that he'd had anger management therapy? Because punching things after losing a Quickfire challenge...yikes. He may be talented but working with him would scare the living hell out of me. Also, at this point, I don't see how Richard can say he was robbed. I haven't kept an official tally of how many challenges he's won compared to Stephanie, but I'd say they're pretty close to even. Maybe because he's done better than her in the Quickfires? Because she's been closer to elimination and I don't know that he's ever been in the bottom half in elimination challenges? Well, back to watching...maybe I'll figure it out down the road...

After a bit of delay, my season 4 watch is underway...so far, it's been pretty good. I am getting a little tired of some chefs' attitudes when it comes to preparing meals for people who aren't big-name chefs, critics, or celebrities--the block party being a perfect example. The losing team was like, "We don't get why we lost. We made the kind of food these people really like!" Excuse me, "these people"??? Just because we can't all afford to eat at your (overpriced) restaurant every week doesn't mean we don't like good food. It's not just this season--I think back to the bad attitude Harold and Tiffany had about making food for kids in season 1, and there are probably a couple more instances that I'm forgetting at the moment that have rubbed me the wrong way. Oh, and I'm also tired of Jennifer making all the excuses in the world for Zoi. "She shouldn't go home because she didn't want to make pasta salad and they made her." "She shouldn't be in the bottom even though her film food dish didn't measure up to some of the others." Whatever. If the food's not good, she's where she deserves to be. Sorry, clearly it's time for my happy pills. One more thing I've noticed: Is it just me, or did the person having to bleep out all the cursing have to put in overtime in this season? Seems like there are a lot more beeps than in previous seasons. Not complaining, just curious.

I have to agree--some of the challenges they had in Texas were ridiculous. Just finished season 3, and although Hung wasn't my favorite cheftestant, I can't quibble with his win--even his fellow competitors acknowledged that they knew early on he was the one to beat. I felt kind of bad for Casey--she pretty much shot herself in the foot in the finale. It was nice to see her be voted as season 3's fan favorite over CJ, that's for sure. I didn't have a good impression of him from watching the Seattle season and his original season did nothing to improve it. On to season 4...

I have seen Texas, and you're right, it was bad. Their ugly side started with the way they ganged up on the first guy eliminated while they were at judge's table and only got worse once they found someone vulnerable enough to attack in Beverly. I wasn't much of a Beverly fan--I found her very annoying--but as with what happened to Marcel, their behavior was inexcusable. Texas is an example of a terrible season that had a good ending with Paul's win. And it had eye candy--helloooo, Chris Crary! And Grayson. Grayson was a riot. Well, leave it to me to get sick over a three-day weekend. At least it gave me a chance to get started on season three. Not liking Hung at all with his arrogance and recklessness--running around with a knife? Really? But it's interesting to see the ones who appeared on All-Stars in their first go round.

Almost done with season 2. I know who wins because I started watching the show from season 7 on, but if I were watching this completely unspoiled, I don't think I would've watched. Marcel was a smarmy little jerk, not that he deserved getting manhandled by Cliff, but Ilan was just as bad. I think this cast would've greatly benefitted from Anger Management classes. Sorry, this thread is supposed to be about comparing seasons and I'm kind of taking over with my season 2 thoughts. So I'll tie it in real quick! I can safely say, even before I get to the other four seasons I've missed, that this is going to be my least favorite season. At least the other seasons had people to root for even if I wasn't happy about the outcome.

Still watching season 2, and WTH?? Did I miss something, or did Mia go from I'm-not-letting-anyone-throw-me-under-the-bus-to-save-their-own-ass to I'm-stepping-aside-don't-eliminate-Elia in like, two seconds? Why?

I'm currently watching season 2, and I must know--is it just me, or is there not a single person worth rooting for in that entire cast? I thought some of the people in the Texas season were bad, but this bunch...yikes.

When it comes to the comedies, I'm kinda meh. I don't watch any of them. But man was I cheering big time for the Breaking Bad love!! And if Bryan Cranston winning managed to knock the smirk off Julia Roberts' face, so much the better!!! Gah, I wanted to throw something at the TV while she was introducing the nominees.

I was pretty sure I knew the answer to who tasted Stephanie's dish in that challenge, so I went back to the tapes (er, iTunes download, whatever) to check. And I was right. It was, drumroll please.... Nicholas. He called her his "little sister" and said he couldn't let her go down. (And then said he wouldn't help out Carlos). And as the judges were tasting her dish, where she told them about Nicholas's help, she said, "I don't think he'd do anything to sabotage me. At least, I hope not."

The entire "Ozymandias" episode of Breaking Bad. Don't get me wrong, it's a brilliant episode all across the board, but I haven't been able to bring myself to watch it since it aired.

Oh my God, THIS. I started crying the minute Tony went looking for Chino, because I knew what was going to happen. That it happened right as he saw Maria made it even worse. The scene in Titanic where Mr. and Mrs. Strauss are holding each other in bed as the water's rushing underneath them...it gets me every damn time. I know everyone talks about the beginning of Up, but I always cry when Carl goes through Ellie's scrapbook of their life together and realizes that even if they didn't have the adventure they wanted as children, what they had was something even more.

When it comes to former SNL cast members, I tend to agree with a lot of the opinions expressed here. The only Adam Sandler movie I've truly enjoyed was The Wedding Singer, and as someone mentioned upthread, I think that was more for the 80's references than anything else. The only Will Farrell movie I've remotely cared about was Blades of Glory, and I'm not even all that crazy about it. (It's a figure skating thing. Yes, I will go sit in the corner now.) Having said that, I'm looking forward to seeing Tina Fey in This Is Where I Leave You--but unless they've radically changed the book, that's not a starring role but a supporting one.

I keep reminding myself of this, but...damn, that second trailer looked even more interesting than the first.

Okay, somewhere in this thread, someone said Corey Stoll should've gotten some recognition for House of Cards. Is there room for me at that table? Cuz everyone kept talking about Spacey and Wright and I was all, but but but....but what about THIS guy? I really like BtVS Season 6. It's not my favorite, but I like it a lot. I keep trying and failing to get into Orphan Black. I've seen the pilot twice now but still haven't made it through episode 2. Unpopular GoT opinion: I'm sorry, but as much as I love Peter Dinklage, I thought his acting was over the top at the end of Tyrion's trial. Just...no. I'm sure I'll think of more later.

This! Ugh, ugh, ugh. I'm in that boat with you--still have to turn away when it comes to the ear larva. Ick.

I'll admit, I'm very excited about this one--but I enjoyed the book. But what I'm tempted to see in spite of not liking the book much is Gone Girl. The trailer is tempting me to reread the book, which might remind me why I didn't care for it in the first place and thus skip the movie.

Fast Five. I had to take a client to see it because she was a huge Paul Walker fan and was dreading it, but the movie was much more enjoyable than I anticipated.

Agreed. I'm going to date myself here, but when I was growing up, there was a series of YA historical romances called "Sunfire" series. One of those books was set on the Titanic and featured a young woman who was being pressured by her mother to marry a rich man to save the family fortunes after the money has run out. The rich guy was nice and she might've made a match of it, but turns out that the girl had fallen in love with a young man in...wait for it...third class!!! In the end, the rich guy nobly went down with the ship while the guy in third class managed to survive and live happily ever after with the girl. Makes me wonder if James Cameron ever read that book. Although I suppose there are only so many plots in the world. Just interesting that he chose that one.

I have two movies that fit this category, and interestingly enough, they share a common problem: Keanu Reeves. I love Much Ado About Nothing (Branagh's version) and Dangerous Liaisons, but my fingers itch to hit the fast forward button whenever he appears. Woefully miscast in both.

As good as Saving Private Ryan is, I have seen it only once because I was so disturbed by the scene at the end where the German soldier slowly stabs Adam Goldberg in the heart while saying "Shhh" over and over. *shudders in horror all these years later* Just can't do it.

For two and a half pages of this thread, I was terrified that I was going to have open a trap door, whisper the name of the stupid movie on my list, and dive back into my hiding place. Fortunately, I am not alone in being trapped whenever Grease 2 appears. *whew* Add me to the list of people who can watch Drop Dead Gorgeous over and over again. I don't think I could hate anything Allison Janney does, and she's in top form here. Center Stage, in spite of clunky dialogue and bad acting and everything else, has amazing dancing. And it's so cheese-tastic that I love it. And also, erm...Jawbreaker. *runs for cover*