Darian

I only half-watch this show, but I think I heard Alex throw a little shade at Giada on last night's show. Antonia Lofaso said "pistachio," but used, she said, the Italian pronunciation and Alex said (paraphrase), "Giada's on line one."

Love all of the casting news. As a huge fan of Renee Elise Goldsberry, I'd love them to bring back Ava. I just watched a clip of her performing "Out Tonight" from Rent. She's insanely talented.

Yes, that's why I said maybe she misspoke and allowed for the possibility that Food Network did everything right. Thing is, Food Network had a lot of footage to choose from and they aired that snippet. So they mustn't care if people think they might not be taking adequate precautions. Either by airing a statement that is not true and gives tacit approval to risky behavior or being lax in their practices, Food Network biffed it. Sorry, I have lost five friends to coronavirus in the last two months. Two were healthcare workers who got it at work. I pay attention to how productions are handling things. I won't bring it up again, but since I did say it could be an error, I wanted to address your response to me. Here's hoping all goes well. This show is consistently one of my favorite cooking/baking competition shows.

I enjoyed it, like all the kids, and the parents were fine. But I was a little wigged out when a kid (Miabella, maybe) said they got the call she'd been selected "last week" and then traveled to LA. I realize I am someone who has had a feeble immune system since 1977 (I was already washing my hands a zillion times a day using the same technique as medical professionals and using hand sanitizer a lot), was an RN, and would have majored in Microbiology if I hadn't been a non-traditional student needing to finish. But I had this idea that they brought everyone in, had them quarantine for a period, tested them, and then started shooting. But from "last week" it seems like a bunch of kids and adults flew in from all different parts of the country days before starting to be in close contact for hours day after day. Maybe they're testing, but you can still transmit the virus before you test positive. I don't feel as carefree watching it. It doesn't matter when this was filmed. Any time after March means they're not being safe enough. IMO, anyway. Don't mean to be the death of fun, and maybe the baker misspoke or production actually is safe. But I got concerned.

This is another show I watched during the pandemic that I don't know if I would have enjoyed before it. It just works. It's really fun, and Titus Burgess has charm to spare. I'm enjoying it.

Business acumen is definitely a big factor in who is going to get through this. That has me worried for Christian, who says it's not his strength. Maneet and Vivek were lucky to have a brewery they could reconfigure (there's a better word, I know). I wonder if in the future, restauranteurs will consider having some kind of backup plan or arm of their business they could convert to retail. Sadly, there will be other pandemics. I'm fascinated seeing the different approaches. I felt so bad when Antonia got so enthusiastic about Seder dinners, and then they had to shut down.

Yeah, when I saw this come up on my scheduled recordings, I got excited. I'm not a kid person, but I always love the kid competitions. The kids are usually so funny and enthusiastic and nice to each other, and Duff and Valerie are so good with them. The parents better behave. I need this to be fun and relatively drama-free.

Oh, this was wrenching. Makes me extra glad that we've been ordering takeout and delivery from our favorite local indies way more often, donating to World Central Kitchen, and over-tipping. Our favorite pizzeria messed up our regular order by putting something on I can't have, even if you remove it and only a little juice is leftover. The next time we placed that order, I mentioned it and asked them to please make sure that topping wasn't on it. They tried to give us credit for the previous pizza, and I refused. I told them my husband could and did eat it, and maybe after the pandemic, they can throw in a free side or something. Now, I'm almost sorry I even mentioned it. I've always liked Antonia, Marcus, and Christian, and while it's interesting to see the different ways all of them rallied, it's also just so sad. Antonia in particular I think is doing this to help her industry (I'm sure they all are, but she said she doesn't like to show this side of her), and I hope they come through. I want them same for Guy and all the places that are struggling. All their employees! I hope they do as well as they can. And Chef Jose Andres deserved all the humanitarian honors. I've been following his efforts for a long time.

The only reason I finished watching Dashing in December was because it wasn't two straight, cis-het people (like me ) falling in love. I wanted it to get good ratings. I liked The Christmas Setup much more, and was charmed when I found out that the leads are married in real life. Sometimes real-life chemistry doesn't translate to the screen, but theirs sure did. individually and together, they were adorable.

It cracked me up, because he said, "Fuuuck! Oh, sorry. Excuse my language. (brief pause) It's...fucking fuck!" Briony and Yan are two of my GBBO bakers, but they were all delightful. Fun episode.

Oh, I saw the name and had to watch. It was kind of a hoot. Didn't take itself too seriously, had that so-bad-it's goodish sci fi vibe, and skewered so many of the tropes. I didn't watch closely but it was fun. Glad I happened to see the listing as I scrolled. I'm terrible at remembering the names of what I watched, but a few years ago, I stopped watching any that had almost no diversity and were all "small towns are better than cities/gotta save the Christmas ornament factory that's been losing money since it opened." And with that, I've been seeing better plots. I saw same-sex couples, Black leads, Asian leads, Latinx leads. Saw a man follow a woman to another country because she got the big promotion. Heard Spanish spoken. I've really been enjoying something other than the same old plots with the same faces. I've even seen some fresher stuff on Hallmark, though I have been watching more on other channels.

A sincere thank-you to those who posted about the special. I saw it had recorded and thought it was just a clip show, so I deleted. When I read here, I was able to recover it. I love Duff for still being salty about Jon's carrot cake being voted the winner over Lashonda's (two of her desserts were in the top for the whole series!). It was such a good special, though I am still a little skeptical about how much they're like a family. They hit that pretty hard. It's just...Nancy seems so abrasive and my-way-or-the-highway. Then again, there's always that one family member...But it's good they get along. I love Lorraine, so I wish they'd have done a show like this when she was on. I do like Carla, though. If your prescription isn't crazy, glasses can be somewhat inexpensive (grumbles the lady who needs all kinds of prisms and stuff and can't get a pair of glasses under seven hundred bucks. And I am someone who would have dozens in all different colors if they were a lot cheaper). I like that Carla can have so many. Oh, boo, now I'm getting Warby Parker and Zenni ads.

I've been alternating twisty, easy-to-follow thrillers with books that have a bit more (puts nose in the air) literary merit. So, inhaled He Started It by Samantha Downing because a friend recommended it. It's a fast, fun read. I'm not reading Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi and it is excellent. I'm savoring it.

But...but...the judges were jealous of him. That's why those rich, successful judges chopped him! Ugh, I don't think I've ever rooted as hard against anyone before, and there have been some arrogant jerks on this show. The whole atmosphere improved when he huffed out of there. Dana was on Hell's Kitchen but I can't remember which season or how I felt about her. She and the other two chefs were fun.

I agree on all counts. Just horrific. What a loathsome, evil thing he was. The blurb with the number of fertility doctors who have done this/been caught was chilling. I hope the ease of testing one's DNA stops this. And it makes me glad that when I got a bad vibe from our fertility doctor, I changed to another. Everyone loved the guy, but I wouldn't be surprised if he got busted for this. (Out of an abundance of caution, I want to clarify that I don't think any of Fortier's victims should have picked up on anything or that they did one single thing wrong. They are purely innocent victims. And back then, doctors were on even more of a pedestal than they were in the 90s, when I was trying to conceive).

Whether Madison's father did it or not, and I lean to guilty AF, he's a right bastard. Those poor kids. I'm so glad we got to see Ali happy on her wedding day, to what seems like a warm, loving man. She found her home (sniff). The first episodes, I wasn't crazy about the story-telling, but I warmed to it and ultimately I think it worked. Madison can feel proud of what he's done and I hope, as did Ali, that he finds peace, however it can come. What a family. Yow.

I was so happy Taishi won. Her cookies made me smile so hard. I'd love to see her other shows, competition or otherwise. Some new faces would be appreciated and she is a ray of sunshine. I feel like this was not the episode for Minh to shine. Her creations they showed before the competition made me want to see more from her, but she struggled. Ree and Eddie bring out the best and funniest in each other, and they're both pretty delightful people. Put them together more, Food Network! What a fun episode!

I was going to make exactly this comment in the holiday commercials thread, but figured someone had brought it up somewhere, because it's so good. I'm glad I looked because that ad is so good I'm glad others love it, too. I tear up every single time.

I miss Lorraine, too. I love her, and she and Duff are fun together. I'd swap out Nancy for Lorraine and keep Carla if it meant botting Nancy. I am a ridiculously forgiving viewer during pandemics, apparently, but I still can't stand her.

Just finished When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole, which was excellent. A few pages into Home Before Dark by Riley Sager and so far, so very, very good.

I love Mags, but emergency medicine is a treat 'em and street 'em specialty and she is not a treat 'em and street 'em doctor. The medical stories were pretty wrenching tonight, and poor Amira has lost so much she's already worrying that Theo won't stay (looks like he might). I need some good things to happen to that little sweetie. And Bash's friend. What a hard, horrible way to live. Glad it looks like law enforcement went after his psychotic boss. And yet, when he can work again, the friend may end up in a worse situation. Tragic.

I always enjoy seeing Shinmin, find Raven-Symone adorable, and Erin is a sourpuss, but I agree with a lot of what she says and she knows her stuff. I think in a pandemic, I am an easier audience. The format isn't great, and I miss Jonathan, but it's entertaining enough for right now.

And I liked seeing a little of the pandemic safety measures. I find it reassuring, and they showed just enough to make me relax. I'm glad shows are coming back, but I also want to know they're not risking people's health to make TV shows. I enjoyed the comfort food episode so much.

This was such comfort viewing. I love the kids, and Valerie and Duff are excellent with them. Valerie cracked me up with how amused she was about, in effect, being called an old lady. I was so happy for Taylor, one of my all-time favorites. I wish there'd been no twist so we could have bad more finished products. In general, like so many of you, I don't like twists More of this kind of show, please.

I thought that's what he was going for, because it made me suspicious of him, but not sure I should be, and I think it also unsettled Grace. Could be a red herring, but it added to the WTFedness of the plot for me. Noah Jupe, on the other hand, ripped my heart out of my chest and jumped up and down on it.