seacliffsal

I think I'm out. I just don't like enough characters and don't want to continue being frustrated with their magical abilities to operate however they want. I've watched all of the episodes and have really tried to like this show but somehow I just...don't.

For all the time spent on the Home Alone booby traps I felt that they were anti-climatic. Kevin did a much better and effective job. The story built Dot into a home protection savant but it all came to naught. The ladder neutralized one person and she pushed another down stairs. Electrocuted her own husband and indirectly set her own home on fire. How did she get her husband and daughter to quietly hide in the attic? What did she tell them? She could have shot them in self-defense as they did invade her home-and there probably would have been evidence both on them and in the van that they were going to kidnap her. Oh well. At least her denial of the previous kidnapping has been disproven so the story should start progressing a bit more. And, I am sad to say that I actually agree with Munch, I want pancakes...

Regarding the quality of 'celebrities' that eat at the restaurant during the episodes, I think Gordon knows a lot of high caliber celebrities but wouldn't want them to have to sit for hours and endure the yelling, mishaps, and other aspects of the episodes. So, they probably seek out people who want the publicity or to be seen as a 'celebrity.' I am one who complains about the level of celebrity that we see in this show, but I think it's pretty intentional. After all, he gets some high caliber chefs to come in for the judging segments-but those are pretty straight-forward and don't involve a lot of hijinks.

The implausibility of the show is starting to get to me. I still can't figure out how famous and 'important' the agency is when they have had maybe 20-25 cases. I also can't figure out how wealthy Zeke is for all of the expensive housing, outfits, and lifestyles of the employees are on top of the fabulous office space they have and that they take on so many pro bono cases. I also don't appreciate how entitled they feel to demand that law enforcement be secondary to their agency's agenda. Also, I apologize for this being all in italics but the italics button wouldn't turn off and I am not going to spend too much time trying to figure out the site as I deal with pop-up ads and other irritants.

Thinking back about Orion's statement that he doesn't date Native American women, I kind of wonder if he continually puts himself in relationships that allow him a 'get out of jail free' card when he wants to leave the relationship and present himself as the victim. He could find ways to connect whatever perceived grievance he has to being Native American and the other person not 'getting it.'

I think he said it during the matchmaking episode. I do remember that he said something about not dating Native American women and it was when we were first getting to know everyone.

I wanted to applaud Flor when she said 'I don't think he knows what Dutch charm is...' I know I have written it before, but if people are looking at homes/apartments in a country, then those homes represent that country. The husband kept referencing 'American style' when the style is very European. I love the modernity we see in various episodes. Oh, and I think the wife should have pointed out that he could take the train everyday to Utrech if he wanted to be in a large city as he did not have a job to get to-let him do the commuting.

Orion really contradicts himself. He admitted to Lauren that he said/sang the n word and she showed him grace (or at least said she did). He then said he gave grace to her (which we now know he didn't). He also said to Lauren's dad that he didn't want to be 'bossed' around by a woman because he had been dominated by women his whole life, but then told PC that he had to 'protect' his mom and sister from his step-father. He also consistently said that he seeks opportunities to teach those who are ignorant but now says he can't move beyond someone's 'ignorant' joke. EXHAUSTING!!! Of course, Lauren doublespeaks and participates in word salad so maybe they actually could have been a match... I watched the after-party for the first time because of the complexity of the episode and it was interesting to hear from Claire and Lauren.

I think that various survivors' dislike of Bruce impacted any strategic planning they may have otherwise done. Yes, Emily got Bruce to not play his idol, but that only sent him home a few days earlier than if he had played it. This was a huge opportunity to get a Reba member out-and the way Emily presented it to Bruce would have worked. Emily and Katura even talked about how Julie could win if she made it to the finale. But, no, let's not take out someone we think could win it all-let's take out someone nobody likes and has no chance to win at final 3. And I don't get all of the tears-they have only been playing for 18 days. Let's talk about Australia (Season 2) when it lasted 42 days and peoples' hair was falling out, or Africa (Season 3) when everyone got parasites from drinking elephant dung water. The good old days...I really wish they would go back to the longer seasons as we really saw peoples' true selves and it was a much tougher ordeal to get through (while I watched from my couch...).

Gordon referenced how much Ray was paid, but never mentioned how much Kelly paid herself. There may be a lot more to the debt accumulation than we have been told. Especially considering that she may have pulled money from the business to pay for her own expenses. Kelly never really explained why Ray took (and she gave it to him) financial control. Maybe he found out she was mismanaging the money. Gordon really tried to make it seem like big bad Ray was taking advantage of Kelly, but Ray had a competent chef (Daniel) in place for when he wasn't there and took over the finances after Kelly accumulated a huge debt (which she told everyone about in order to create a poor pitiful me story). I think both of them are to blame for their mess of a business, but Gordon took it out on Ray and not Kelly with all of her other endeavors (Botox Tuesday...).

Whether or not production had already planned on moving 5 to the finale and not eliminating anyone this episode, this 'everyone gets to go to the finale' move really opens up the show for conspiracy theories. I, for one, buy into a conspiracy-that the producers did not want to lose whoever was in the bottom and thus sent all couples to the finale. So, now those who legitimately earned their way into the finale have an additional couple to compete against in the finale. And, the "Len Goodwin Mirror Ball Trophy" may end up going to someone who, according to production rules (someone being eliminated during the semi-finales based on the combination of judeges' scores and viewers votes) should have left this week. If production is seen to undermine viewers' votes, it could introduce a whole slipperly slope aspect to the show as in why vote if production is going to negate it? Yes, this could have been previously planned (all 5 going to the finale) but it also opened the door for thoughts of conspiracy.

I just don't care about John Hamm's character's backstory. His twins appear close in age to Dot's daughter. Hmmmm. Liked the gun shop scene as it shows there is so much more to Dot. And, I really agree with a poster above-why didn't Witt alert someone that the deputy stole evidence. They could have searched him before he even left the building. State police would have jurisdiction over county law enforcement. I feel like they are really trying to insert way too much current issues into the story when all I want is an entertaining story with twists and turns that is entertaining.

This makes me happy. I know a lot of the presenters hope to get a deal with him, but I think this will enliven the show again and the other sharks will be able to get more deals and not just the deals Mark doesn't want.

I think Gordon pushed out the wrong person. For all of her statements about being such a good front of house person, service certainly fell apart on opening night and it can't be blamed on the back of house as they were all from Gordon's restaurant(s). For whatever reason, Gordon seemed really fond of Kelly. Was Ray checked out? Probably. But, he also didn't want Gordon there and from what it sounded like, once he took over the bookkeeping things started getting a bit better. I found it really telling that after Ray left, Daniel left as well-so he was loyal to Ray and not to Kelly. Nevertheless, this seemed like a waste of Gordon's time. I don't see anything really changing.

Thanks, I appreciate that-but, I have to admit that there really isn't a reason good enough to not acknowledge Gordon showing his skills...

The only meager and totally non-justifiable excuse that I can offer up for not including the fact that Gordon did, indeed, show some of his unbelievably amazing skills is that I was getting ready to leave town for Thanksgiving and my birthday (yes, I was actually born on Thanksgiving Day so my birthday has always been celebrated with Thanksgiving). I know it's not much of an excuse, but it's the only one I have...

Just watched the El Cantito episode and I feel like these owners will take to heart the advice from Gordon so hopefully they will be successful. But, it is another cautionary episode about people opening restaurants with no practical experience or knowledge. Their idea to open a restaurant because their mother was a good cook just isn't enough. I guess Gordon assumes everyone watched "Next Level Chef" to the point that his secret guest had to wear a disguise? Okay...

I found it interesting when Lauren talked about how she doesn't believe in gender roles except that she expected men to bring up finances as she would not and that she expected them to (help) support her. So, no gender roles until there are? I also think that Lauren and Orion kind of 'show off' to the others by their PDAs, etc. I don't think I would even want Clare as a friend as she seems really judgemental about status (and I have a doctorate so she can stop it with her 'Masters' superiority). I really think Cameron is confused by her continual 'picking' and comments. Continual comments that are demeaning are not 'funny' as she may be thinking. He has a Masters just as she does and has a great job/business-especially in the Denver area.

I was surprised when Donya took herself out of the challenge (Gordon told the women because they had 1 extra person to sit someone out). She said she couldn't cook any of the dishes and I was surprised because even without much experience one could make a steak taco (maybe not win but could make one). So, either she doesn't have a lot of experience or she sat out thinking she was 'saving' herself from possible elimination. Either way I think it doesn't bode well for her.

Theresa has been playing Gerry this whole time. She started with the 'I had a whole in my heart and never thought I would find love again' line that perfectly mirrored what Gerry was selling at the beginning of the show. Then she became 'helpless' so that Gerry would come to her rescue-'I don't know why that mean old Kathy doesn't like me...' When she noticed him pulling away in Costa Rica, she brought out the 'I'm actually a very good financial planner who beat out all kinds of young college grads to get hired.' Of course she didn't present her intelligent self at the beginning-she wanted Gerry to feel close and protective to her. I had too many friends when I was younger who 'played' the game to snag their husbands and who told me to hide who I was (intelligent, athletic, etc.). But, I also think that Leslie is overplaying the 'I never had love like this' card while referencing her two exs along with those she dated. I wonder how her children view these comments about their fathers (or maybe they really were horrible people). I really think the participants in the Golden Bachelor are just as manipulative and fake as those in the other iterations of this show. Except Susan. I still adore Susan...just laugh and cook and have fun!

Anna Leigh not only complained and whined the whole time, she actively tried to make other teams feel sorry for her. What did she expect them to do? Let her go ahead of them? Why was she bothering others with her pity party? Especially at the bee hive activity when she should have been working on it rather than expecting the beard team to feel sorry for her? I was nervous for Rob and Corey with the Express Pass as two other teams tried to go for it after them. I think the brothers could have passed them but I was glad they turned around. I think Rob and Corey decided to just go for broke through the whole race-they seem like they are enjoying every single moment. And, I like that they stopped to deal with Corey's allergic reaction rather than just race to the end. I also like how Corey signs all of the conversations just automatically for his dad (on the train he just signed everything). I like seeing positive relationships as a good race is drama enough for me, I don't need to see constant bickering or fighting.

I know that some people really didn't like it, but I LOVED it when Jeff took the knife to the bag of rice! Katura trying to get people to promise not to vote out those who sat out the challenge while others are just 'somebody sit out!' I loved the panic that ensued. THAT'S the kind of twist that I want! I also laughed that the person who found the least amount of money had the most at the end of the auction and therefore lost his vote (Bruce). I think that Bruce thinks he has this game locked up due to his total lack of urgency to find auction money. They showed just a brief scene of the Rotu + Emily talk about voting for someone other than Jake, but I should have realized (but, sadly, didn't) that Austin would have been pushing for Kellie so that his amulet would become an idol (and then he would have pay-back for not being able to get the sandwich on their 'journey'). Oh, and Kellie was MAD! I always love a good blindside. Unfortunately, both the players and Jeff have weakened the definition of 'blindside' (Jeff seems to think any kind of vote-out is a blindside) but this truly was. And Kellie's reaction was everything I could hope for. But, her targeting one person (Emily) for her exit is short-sighted; after all, it took five people to vote her out. And, like others, I thought Jake was going to pass out. I like him and hope he isn't medivaced out. Oh, and I meant to add that many seemed concerned for Emily in the Rotu + 1 alliance and I think she is actually in a good position. As they near the end one pair will target the other (Dee/Julie vs. Austin/Drew) and Emily could be the swing vote. She may actually get further due to being the potential swing vote. Or not.

I think Tess stated that they couldn't find a full-time chef and that's why Chris was cooking. They may have originally just wanted to own and manage a restaurant and not actually do the cooking. But, after 6 years they should have figured out how to take some of the cooking responsibilities off of Chris.

Although I have watched all of the episodes and really want to like this show, I just...don't. A reservation is not going to just allow a group of people to roam all over the land and 'interrogate' whomever they want (and I actually have some personal knowledge about this). I don't get why everyone just does what Gabby wants-who is she? What authority does she have? Just like every time she would just stomp into the police department and demand Trent do something for her (well at least that option is gone). Just like an above poster, I counted 19 photos on the "Found" wall. How is her agency so well known with only finding 19 people? How is she able to get press conferences all of the time? Her whole 'the whole country will be looking...' just doesn't make sense. Oh, and if someone (Zeke) was bankrolling my whole agency with several employees beyond the core we see, expensive rent, etc., I would not be insisting on a designer wardrobe and expensive home after that. I know, I know, I'm just supposed to handwave all of this. Sigh.

I think this episode was insightful. Usually we see that the owners had no idea how to run a restaurant, dirty kitchens, etc. This time we saw the real emotional impact of being in a high stress situation. We also saw that just because someone wants to own a restaurant that one should be willing to walk away and ignore how deep they are in to the sunk cost fallacy. Chris did get everyone around him to cater to him, including Tess' mom. I think there was a lot of emotional abuse going on, but I also think Chris has some really unresolved issues. I think Gordon realized a lot of what was going on so focused on separating them and getting Chris in to therapy. No guarantee Chris will continue with therapy and Tess did go back to Chris. Filming this show must be hard on Gordon as so many people don't listen to his advice and in this episode Chris and Tess were quick to put the restaurant up for sale after the renovation which they did not have to pay.