mlp

That's what I've assumed. Could be totally wrong. I was going to say the same thing. FN makes the contestants on all the baking shows do those ridiculous group hugs but the farewells to Kareem looked totally genuine. I liked him a lot myself but, yeah, it was probably past time for him to depart.

I've been trying to ignore some of this because she's so young but it's been getting harder and harder to do. Hopefully being on the bottom took her down a peg or two. She does have talent but the annoyance factor makes it harder to appreciate the skill.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who isn't a fan of Sara. She strikes me the same way Brooke does - very good cook but smug. I'd love to see Kevin Lee win the whole thing.

When Justin was on NFNS, I couldn't stand him because he was so cocky and deliberately quirky. After a few years, he matured and I began to understand what Alton saw in him. Now he's become a favorite and I'm happy to see him wherever he turns up. Funny how that happens.

I could have written the above comment word for word. I'm also looking forward to seeing The Crown and hoping it's mostly about the British monarchy which has been my special interest for decades.

He probably should have. I don't know what was going on with his hair but he looked like he'd spent the night under a bridge. I think I prefer Nancy's hat to her barrettes.

My least favorite part of the first season was the way they eliminated half of the contenders right off the bat. That didn't feel fair. Looks like they discarded that approach. Maybe a lot of viewers felt the same way I did. I don't recognize quite a few names. It will be interesting to find out about them. I'm surprised that Martel and Carlos aren't competing again.

I was sorry to see Jet lose but not as sorry as I would have been if he'd lost to someone I don't like. I was conflicted about that match up because I like Joe Sasto quite a lot. He was a favorite of mine during his season on TC. After that season, I read an interview with one of the other chefs (can't recall who) who said that Joe was a really nice guy and that he got up early every day and made breakfast for everyone. I'm happy for him and I hope he beats his next opponent. I didn't really care who won the first round but I was pulling for Michael Reed and Shota so this was not my favorite week. I'm always happy to see Simon Majumdar and I'm glad they found a place for him if his usual job was too stressful but that bit is so brief that it really doesn't add much to the show. I'd like to hear more from the judges about how they made their decisions.

Anya was a favorite right from the first episode so I was sorry to see her go, especially since I don't care for Bailey. I liked Sam so I was sorry to see him go too. I wonder if the producers had to reshuffle the episode where they planned to bring back an unknown from LCK again.

That was a tough night for me. I don't think I've ever even heard a Beyonce song and I knew none of the teen dramas and maybe one or two of the rom-coms. I thought I'd do well with the competitions but there were some I didn't know at all. To my surprise, the category I did well on was physics. I'm waiting for someone to pick Anatomy. I spent my career in the healthcare field so I expect to do well in that one. I hope.

I thought Stacy's cheesecake looked like a stack of kitchen sponges. The colors were good but I could almost feel the unpleasant texture. She was my least favorite of the bunch so I wasn't sorry to see her go. Julian is obviously talented. He made that stunning madeleine tower in the same time that everyone else had to make theirs which was impressive. I think Jon'nae (?) has a great personality but I doubt she'll last more than a couple more weeks. I still like Priya but I thought she'd be doing better by now.

I was going to say the same thing as above. I've watched it on the Bravo site for years and have never had a problem. I use Chrome if that matters.

For some reason, Mimi didn't bug me as much in LCK as she did during the main show but I still wasn't sorry to see her go. I hope Bailey is next. I wonder why Tom is retaining two chefs to compete against the next one who packs their knives. Isn't it usually one on one or am I remembering that wrongly?

Some of those connections were intuitive but there were a couple I would never have guessed. I didn't know that Crayola had gone the route of kooky color names. I was expecting burnt sienna and raw umber. Showing my age again I guess. I've been wondering about Brian's odd shirt since the beginning so I was happy to learn it has something to do with hockey. I'm still curious about that red tab at the neckline.

I've never really understood all the raving about ramen that I've seen on more than a few shows. However, I have to admit that the only ramen I've ever had is the kind that comes dried in little packages three for a dollar. I imagine I'd have a different opinion if I tried the real thing. Still, it's noodles in broth. How marvelous can that be? I don't dislike her. I just find her effervescence a bit tiresome. She'll calm down as she gets older. Right now, she clearly knows what she's doing and is good at what she does. The other contestants seem to like her.

I didn't get it either. I also didn't understand why Priya didn't set him straight as they were going to be judged together. Maybe she's just too nice. The other thing I didn't get was the portals. I don't know what they look like in Minecraft but they didn't look like much to me. It seems like a portal should connect the two locations or there should be identical portals, one on each side - an exit and entrance so to speak. Most of them just looked like an arch slapped on. I like Priya, Corey and Julian even though his awful haircut is a distraction.

I don't understand what the producers could think it adds to the show. There probably was some shock value the first time but the current cast probably watched the last season so they won't be very surprised. I don't like it and I'll bet the chefs don't either. What's the point?

Yes and that sort of surprised me because all of them have serious credentials. There's a lot on the line - reputation, money - so I guess that shouldn't be surprising. I kept thinking that I knew Shuai Wang from somewhere but I couldn't think where I would have seen him before. Then I realized that he looks a lot like Buddha.

I do too because a hat that serves no useful purpose is an affectation. I have no problem with things like sweat bands and the occasional kerchief seen on Chopped when the purpose is to keep hair back. It's the hats worn as costumes that annoy me. (I mean hats in kitchens only.)

My thoughts exactly. I didn't like Mimi (and her hat) on the main show and I liked Ying. Tom really had no choice when she left off two ingredients but I was sorry to see her go. I hope Sam continues to do well.

Beatrice is rather impressive for being just a teenager. She seems to know what she's doing but her bubbly, exuberant personality is going to make me nuts before this is over. She'll probably win.

The categories were a mixed bag for me tonight. I knew all the TV Chefs but only two of the Real Housewives and that's because I've seen them on other shows. I've never watched any of the Housewives shows and had never even heard of most of them. The rest of the categories were somewhere in between. Brian seems like a nice guy. The other contestants seem happy for him winning all that money by just standing there. He must get along well behind the scenes. The chyron said the balding guy with a grey beard is 39. He looks 59. That has to be a typo. I'm not good at recognizing movie stars but even I knew Tom Hanks. :)

Off to an interesting start. I liked Priya right away and she looks like she may go far. I also liked Kareem but I doubt he'll last much longer. He just doesn't have the knowledge and skills of most of the others. I don't care what life problems Kari has had to overcome and I was put off by her introducing herself the way she did but I have to admit that her winning pie was impressive. I think having the first episode be two hours long is a good idea because it gives them time to introduce all the contestants and show us a little bit of their personalities.

I was happy with the first two matches because I like both Michael Reed and Shota and I thought their dishes looked better than the opposing ones. I wasn't very invested in match 3. Both dishes looked good to me. I didn't care for Kaleena on TC and I've never been a big fan of Chris mostly because I have no interest in offal which he's known for. However, he has a good reputation as a chef and he did win TC Masters so I was leaning his way. I wanted Chris Oh to win the last match because I like him but his dish wasn't "elevated" and didn't even look good to me. Britt deserved her win. She's obviously a very good cook and a creative chef but her ego is turning me off. She seemed pleasant and grateful for praise after her first win but now she's all braggadocio. I don't know if success has gone to her head or what but now she's like listening to Carlos Anthony talk himself up. Not appealing.

Actually, his hair bothers me more than his behavior. The producers probably tell him to pour on the acting but the hair is his own conceit, probably aided and abetted by some stylist backstage who also poofed up Gordon's hair although not to such a dorky level. I've never disliked Blais like many people do but I have to admit that he can be very needy and annoying. I don't think he's a bad guy at heart.