mlp

I love Duff, like Lorraine and absolutely can't stand Nancy Fuller so I was hoping they'd replace her with someone less smug and confrontational. I don't find the friction between the two women even a tiny bit amusing - even if it's fake. Well, I do find Nancy's new haircut pretty funny. Yike. My first thought when I saw Aveed was that FN was going to try to capitalize on the popularity of Nadiya from GBBS. I expected her to last a long time no matter what she did so I was glad she was eliminated for her poor showing - not because I didn't like her but because it was the right decision. I did raise an eyebrow when she was talking to Jesse while making her alcohol-infused dessert and said she "always" makes this for the holidays. I raised the other eyebrow when she said she hadn't tasted it because of the alcohol. It makes no sense that a practicing Muslim would "always" make a dessert with alcohol that couldn't be eaten. That blue-green dessert must have tasted a lot better than it looked. The young fellow with glasses appeared to be one to watch. He's clearly talented and seemed quite pleasant.

I'd never seen Jesse Palmer before he turned up on FN so I don't have any reason to dislike him but...........................I much preferred Bobby Deen.

I enjoyed the first episode. I think Guy's shtick (which I don't care for) tends to mask the fact that he's actually intelligent and competent. It'll be interesting to see his decisions as they're made. I liked the way he handled the elimination rather than the usual big dismissal in front of the group. I totally agreed with the first elimination. I hope he also axes the pretty woman with bare shoulders who is acting sexy because she wants to get on TV. The grandmas' days are probably numbered too. I don't remember their names but I recognized the black woman right away but I can't think where I've seen her before. I almost think she was on Chopped a long time ago. Or maybe that show that had all grandmas competing? I liked the baker as far as talent and personality went but he's sure not cute. I'm pretty sure the deli guy is already very well known in his field so I wonder why he decided to do this show.

I did. I also thought the bit with Elise doing nothing was either totally contrived or the result of editing. I don't for a minute believe that Gordon who misses very little AND both hyper-critical sous chefs never noticed her behavior.

I guess that's true but I don't understand why "dated" is a bad thing. Judges complaining that something is dated are implying or even saying outright that modern would be better and that's not necessarily so - at least IMO. I'd rather have a Rembrandt than a Jackson Pollock. I thought Andy's flowers were beautiful no matter what decade they came from. I usually expect contestants to get dinged for using store bought stuff but I didn't have any problem with Dwayne's vanilla wafers because he was doing a riff on banana pudding and vanilla wafers are the "authentic" ingredient for that, not homemade cookies. I agree that Andy was prickly during the last couple episodes but I could see why and didn't really blame him. He's a master at what he does and has been doing for many years and he got sick of the young whippersnapper making snide comments. Thiago is very talented but he needs to improve his own résumé before he criticizes someone with Andy's credentials. I had the feeling that Dwayne was sick of it too but was better at not letting it show.

I thought Thiago was being set up for the win so I was surprised when Dwayne won - and absolutely delighted. I'm very happy for him, especially since it meant so much to him. I would have been happy if Andy had won too but he's won so many other honors that he didn't need the affirmation that Dwayne apparently did. Thiago is very talented and will probably do very well for himself but he needs to tone down the arrogance. It was clear to me that Dwayne and Andy like each other and their banter was good-natured. Thiago didn't seem to get that and his snarky comments didn't make him look good. Watching Andy make those green leaves fascinated me. I'd love to watch that in slow motion to see how he did it.

Jonathan was my favorite from the beginning and I thought he had the best "body of work" overall so I was disappointed when he didn't win. I have to admit that Jasmin's final entry was very good but I just didn't like her personality. Poor Jessica. I give her credit for making the best of a mess but that black whatever had no chance.

It is neat to watch. I've gathered that the secret is to use the backs of your hands so your fingers don't poke holes in the dough. I've never even tried to make pizza myself. I just call Domino's. :)

Ew. There is a striking resemblance but the Ood is a lot more sinister.

Tregaye is not qualified to judge anyone and her grammar is atrocious. Ack indeed. I didn't understand why they let that last woman standing get away with a pizza that was basically all packaged ingredients that she just assembled. The guy's might not have been great but he at least cooked his from scratch.

I thought I'd be happy with either team winning but, in the end, I wasn't. MM's Small Scare was MUCH better than Ghoul'd's IMO and I liked their final tableau better too. Christoffe does amazing work and his water and boats were great but the village was so small I couldn't even see it in the long shots. The octopus-monster thing was also good but not really outstanding - again IMO. The only feature I didn't like in MM's scene was the yellow blob that was supposed to be a firefly nest or something. If they hadn't said what it was, I would have had no idea what it was supposed to be. Having said that, I do think that both teams deserved to be in the finale and both did the best work since Richard Ruskell, Vinny Garcia (RIP) and the guy in the hat whose name I can't recall. The best displays ever on Halloween Wars though came from the early show with Karen Portaleo vs. Ray Villafane.

I'm looking forward to this but I wish it wasn't conflicting with Top Chef. I like Johnny Iuzzini but he always looks unclean. I hope he washed his greasy hair before appearing next to Paul Hollywood who always looks pristine.

I liked Adalberto and was sorry to see him go but he was the right choice. I would love to see Dwayne or Andy win but Thiago's more modern spin may sway the judges. He's a bit arrogant and has made snarky comments about the others whereas Dwayne and Andy seem to like each other and have been mutually supportive even though they're competing. I wonder how old Thiago was when he came to the U.S. He has no accent that I can pick up. I have never liked Marcela so I hope this is her swan song on FN. I very much like Adam Rapaport and hope to see him again and I always enjoy Jason. Yesterday I watched a rerun of a very old Challenge show with people who were good at their craft given adequate time and no silly twists. That plus Best Baker made me long for the "good old days" (and Keegan Gerhard). I wish FN would have more competitions like this.

I really like John Henson. I'd never seen him before he turned up on Worst Cooks and I even liked him on that ridiculous show. He's doing a good job as host. He's amusing and low key which appeals to me - not OTT loud and goofy. He's cute too.

I liked the guy on the losing team and I felt sort of sorry for him having to work with those two women. Their zombie scene wasn't bad at all but the other two were just better so the right team went home. The team that made the Tator zombie were saying aloud that it was a tribute but I'll bet they really didn't like him any better than we did and it was really a giant joke. They did a good job with it. I think both teams in the final two deserve to be there and I'll be happy with either one winning.

I liked the guy on the losing team and I felt sort of sorry for him having to work with those two women. Their zombie scene wasn't bad at all but the other two were just better so the right team went home. The team that made the Tator zombie were saying aloud that it was a tribute but I'll bet they really didn't like him any better than we did and it was really a giant joke. They did a good job with it. I think both teams in the final two deserve to be there and I'll be happy with either one winning.

You're right. I half watched the rerun and that's exactly what they said.

I can't picture any of them ^^^^ at this point but I did enjoy the episode. Alton was a bit less annoying than he'd been on the first one. My DVR picked up a new episode of Chopped last night. When did they start airing new shows on Thursday?

That looks like a Top Chef reunion. Wish I lived closer.

I like Adam Rapoport as host too. I'm still wondering how FN got someone of his stature to host a show. I was soooooooo relieved to see Cheryl eliminated. She was a study in arrogance and excuses. I couldn't stand her last time she was on and liked her even less this time around. If they had eliminated Dwayne because Cheryl was the last woman standing, I would have been angry. Based upon the opera cakes, she was the right one to go. I like all the bakers who are left and will hate to see each one leave as the weeks go on.

I suspect that one reason these contestants don't look great is the time constraints. I suspect that most if not all of them do much better work when they can bake and decorate at their own pace - with no silly twists. Tyler is probably a good example. I had him figured for a finalist because he seemed quite talented but he didn't have time to fix a disaster which he would have had in a normal situation. Rooting for Jonathan.

I thought both teams did well and I wouldn't have been unhappy if Adam's team had prevailed but I don't much care for him and I do like Froggy and friends so I was glad they won. The animals in the petting zoo were very well done though. I think the kids voting must have thought the farm with snakes was a lot scarier.

I enjoyed this episode and was glad the Thai woman won. I also enjoyed watching Jet Tila translate for her at the end. I often wonder why FN hasn't given him a show. He's a doll and he'd bring something new to the network. I often watch the podcast he does off and on on FB. He does it from his own kitchen at home and his wife does the camera part. She's really cute and they're great together. I'd love a show with both of them.

Those rhymed descriptions are so awkward they're embarrassing. I was relieved to see Tator and his delusions depart. I lost count of the number of times he claimed his team was better than everyone else - which it clearly wasn't. Even I know you can't put fondant directly on something wet like pumpkin. Don't these people watch this show? I think that team's small scare was the worst one any team has ever made. Maybe I misunderstood but I thought the tasting element was supposed to be a drink. Two of them were definitely not liquid and the judges didn't say anything so maybe not.

I'm pretty sure that the set for GGG is in Santa Rosa. I wonder if it has survived. Guy grew up in northern California so I'm sure he has a special affinity for the affected areas. The pictures of the devastation are beyond awful. I don't like his shtick but I think he's a good person at heart and I do admire him for actually doing something instead of just writing a check.