bluepiano

My memory is that he's managed to work a mention of "tailgating" into every damn challenge. They could be catering for the Metropolitan Opera and he would still relate it to tailgating. He may have even said "tailgating" and/or "tailgate party" as many times as Michelle said she was a mother. Jay has seemed the favorite all year, which is why I doubt he will win. The grilling massive amounts of meat thing he does is already about half the programming on FN, so its not like it's a POV they're missing. He does cook with a Cajun twist, which is interesting, but it's not something they've really stressed. And I think that FN would consider a full-on Cajun cooking show to be too limited for a mass audience. (And they also have enough people doing general southern). Thanks to the poster who earlier reminded me about Michelle's fake black-person jive accent while she was talking during her dance. Another thing to add to the list of why I'm glad to see her go.

Weeks back I was arguing that Giada supposedly changing her mind on the spot to boot Matthew was scripted, so granted I'm conspiracy oriented. But I'm even more sure that Michelle's quitting was something that been worked out in advance with the producers. She was terrible during the food truck challenge. The weird dancing and then making tasteless soup. (Given that Bobby had said if you're going to make something as common as tomato soup it better be great, hers was an epic fail). But none of that was mentioned during the judging segment. They just said something about her needing to bring it, and went on to Alex. Had this been legit, she definitely would've been considered for bottom two, and probably been sent home. Here's what I think happened. She had this really bad week. (During the brunch challenge she babbled incoherently, and her food wasn't good either.) So I believe that the producers sat down with her and said, you seem to be struggling, is your heart really in this? They may have even told her that she was likely to be cut. So it was mutually agreed that she would bow out, enabling her to save face. And it gave the show a dramatic twist ending that got people talking. She was so bad this week that I can't imagine her bouncing back. So it's really better that she didn't stick around and continue to go down hill. I hope that FNS now stops giving us these home cook contestants and goes back to making the show about people who legitimately have "food authority" because they actually do food for a living. (Including I'm sure a lot of female chefs who know how to balance family and career).

I actually felt bad for "The Hugger." The judges were really hard on her, saying that she had no business being on AGT. But they were the ones who put her through in the first place!! Her first appearance was good for a laugh, but she was clearly not a "talent" and there was clearly nowhere to go with this. The judges should have have politely sent her home this week, instead of humiliating her as if trying to make up for what they knew was a mistake on their part. Sorry to see the 13 year old mariachi singer go. She may have been the most talented kid they've ever had on this show. She was actually a good singer, and not just good "for her age." (Which is my complaint about kid performers. They are always marked on a curve.) I agree with a previous poster that her second appearance was even better than her first. Heidi called her a belter, but what's more impressive is that she has excellent control, and sings with real feeling (unlike that terrible screamer from last year, who ridiculously went much further). But I think the fact that she sang in Spanish is what did her in. Ultimately, unless someone can understand the words, there's a limit to how much they can connect with the song. I bet if she'd sang an English language song, especially a familiar one, she'd still be around.

I agree that Emilia showed really bad judgment, but I believe that a guy on this show would have gotten away with it. Told he made a mistake, but not booted off because of it. I think there's a real double standard on this show, where a guy can flirt with being outrageous or even in bad taste and TPTB will wink at it. But women contestants are supposed to be sweet and nice and completely non-threatening and non-controversial. Hence the last woman standing this year is Michelle, who keeps cooking really bland, safe food and making every presentation about being a Mommy. Which is apparently what FN thinks its viewers want from a female TV personality. Because every week they give Michelle a pass, whether she serves raw chicken, or tonight, spends the last half minute of her on-camera presentation chewing. That was a "solid job?" It really bugs that she's the last woman left this year, when there were others who had way more personality and food chops. And now I fear they will need to keep her around for at least a few more weeks in order for it to not be all men. And each week I can see her becoming more insufferable. Although he's apparently a good cook, Dom should've been sent home. He walked off the set yet again. It's becoming a running joke. And didn't he completely ignore the fact that he was supposed to tell a story about himself at age 5? The judges never even mentioned that. So, like Michelle, week after week he gets a free pass. PS - I actually thought Emilia's line about Jay selling you a car was pretty funny, and on the mark. He does seem to have all the sincerity of a used car salesman.

You can say the same thing about the Dancing Dads. Fun at a party or a neighborhood street fair. A Vegas act? Hardly. I can't even imagine paying a small cover charge to see them at a local club. Feel-good acts are a specialty of this show, including most of the seniors and kid acts. Then there are the people with disabilities and the ones overcoming some sort of personal tragedy. (eg. singer with dead son). I don't mind if these acts bring some genuine entertainment value. But I wish that Howard would stop being selective about asking "is this a million dollar act?" In reality pretty much the only acts on AGT that people would pay money to see are the small number that are already professional entertainers. The idea that AGT is going to discover and turn into a star some unknown who's currently waiting tables or teaching kindergarten makes for good PR. But haven't all the winners (or finalists) been people who already had some degree of show business career?

It felt like almost the entire show was filler, like they had no interesting acts left. A lot of time was wasted on joke acts that weren't even entertaining in a bad way, like the "face contortionist." I'd have rather seen more of the real contortionists and a couple of the male/female acrobat couples, instead of just short clips. The "intimacy expert" was a huge waste of time, and I found the kissing thing with Nick kind of creepy. Early in the season they actually had another intimacy expert, the woman who taught hugging, and she did get put through. When the leader of the gospel choir got all choked up about getting four yesses, I was thinking, gee, I hope he doesn't know that a guy smashing watermelons with his head also got four yesses. (I thought the choir was good, but the praise was OTT.) Guy who sang "Drift Away?" Yet another mediocre singer that the judges went nuts for. I can't remember a single singer this season who was anything special. Although the guy who drag who sang the country song was pretty funny.

Very well said. Thailand used to be the favorite foodie hipster country, but now it seems that Vietnam has overtaken it. In any case, it's still "exotic" SE Asia. Though I generally like him, Anthony Bourdain is the patron saint of this sort of thing. He once did an episode of his show called "Going Home" (or something similar) that was about a trip to Vietnam. What?? Last time I looked, Anthony Bourdain was a New Yorker. It's one thing to identify with another culture, but taken to an extreme it becomes kind of insulting to the people who are really from that country. (I bet AB himself would have choice things to say about someone who had only visited NY calling themselves a "New Yorker.") Count me among those who are glad that the reduced role played by Bob and Suzie means a reduced demand for gratuitous personal stories. We still get a few, but it no longer seems to be a requirement. And I don't think we'll get a repeat of when that Mexican-American woman who had studied classical French cooking in France was browbeaten into cooking Mexican food and telling stories about her dying abuelo.

Actually, in her intro on the show she said she was from Zimbabwe, which borders South Africa and has a similar colonial history. (It used to be called Rhodesia). I think she decided that not many people in the US are familiar with her native country, so she broadened her POV to "southern Africa" rather than refer to a specific country. But it did sound like sometimes she would say South Africa, maybe because she figured there would be a bigger recognition factor. I think that she was interesting because she actually did come from another country, as opposed to Alex or Emilia or other U.S. contestants who claim to have absorbed global food cultures. I believe there is a difference. If Bobby and Giada are really "mentors" they should have worked with her and given specific guidance as to how she could communicate more clearly about her food. But probably the bottom line is that they believed "southern African" cuisine had too limited an appeal. It was interesting enough to get her on the show, but in reality she was never a serious contender.

I think we should also note Giada's record of not liking attractive female contestants, who might offer her competition for the eyes of male viewers. (Or judges?) Rue was young and cute, so between Rue and Momma Michelle, who would Giada rather see leave the show? Not saying that women always relate to other women on that level (don't want to get in trouble with the PC Police). But regarding Giada, it's something that a number of people have commented on over the years. And this year, in particular, Giada's outfit seem to be screaming "Look at me!"

I expected Dom to go, but when he was safe, I was sure it was goodbye Michelle. I can not believe they kept her over Rue. Really?? Rue was a better cook, had better presentation skills, and was the only one with a POV that isn't already done to death on FN. While Michelle is really just a slightly better than average home cook. She said that she'd never used habaneros because her kids don't like spice. So FN would consider giving a show to someone who only cooks food that would appeal to children? Melissa d'Arabian played the mommy card, but she actually did have culinary training in France. On top of that, Michelle is whiny, self-entitled, and refers to herself constantly in the third person. Just no. The judges kept dinging Rue for not explaining African food. At the same time they told Alex that he should've called his chicken katsu a fried chicken sandwich so as not to confuse the dummies in TV land. Despite the rhetoric about wanting to educate and inform viewers, FN really is all about good old boys (and gals) grilling great big hunks of meat. The way Jay threw his arm around Emilia's shoulders when they got put through had a vibe of work place sexual harassment. (And Giada and Bobby were much kinder to their food during the judging then they had been in the tasting, when they said it was bland, had no sauce, and was inconsistently cooked). Alex lost a lot of credibility as an Asian food expert when he couldn't name the five spices in Five Spice Powder, his supposed favorite ingredient. If he been able to name four out of five but stumbled on the fifth that would've been one thing. But he seemed totally clueless. That was strange.

I liked the 15 year old comic. His delivery was a bit shaky (no doubt due to nerves) but he did have some genuinely funny lines. (I totally believe that his father helped him write the act). However, I'm skeptical that he's got more material at the same level. That's the issue with comedians who have just one theme. At some point "I'm 15" stops being a novelty and becomes boring. Overall it seems to me that there are fewer stand out acts than in past years, and even the best acts so far don't measure up to the best acts of the past. Maybe after 10 years the talent pool's getting thin. Apparently "America's Got Talent" but not an unlimited supply.

And that 36 states had already enacted laws enabling gay people to marry. So if the Supreme Court had ruled gay marriage illegal, would the Republicans freak out about the "imperial" Supreme Court riding roughshod over the will of the states? Of course not, they'd have hailed the Supreme Court for restoring "God's Law." I'm so tired of the endless Republican hypocrisy. They claim that they're angry about the gay marriage ruling over the principle of judicial overreach, but they were angry when the Court wouldn't overreach and toss out the ACA subsidies. Call yourself a patriot who loves America, but have a tantrum and say you want to shut down the Supreme Court when you don't like a couple of its rulings. Is that the kind of democracy we wanted to bring to the Middle East? We're setting a great example.

Starting this topic because no one else has. Does that indicate a lack of interest? Well, most of the acts were ho hum. The two Japanese dancers? Yawn. Has there ever been a mixed media dance act that didn't make the judges swoon, and act like they were seeing this for the very first time ever in the history of the world? I thought at least Howard might say, we've seen this before, and seen it done more spectacularly. But I guess going nuts for these acts is how AGT shows that it can appreciate "art." (Same thing with opera.) The woman who sang "Natural Woman?" Yawn. Decent singer, but on the level of a pretty run-of-the-mill "Voice" contestant. All the daredevil acts? Yawn. I can never escape the feeling that these are well rehearsed, well planned theatrical events, with way little actual danger than we're led to believe. (With the fire department and rescue personnel standing around playing the role of extras to add atmosphere) Trick horseback riding? Yawn. Saw enough of that in Roy Rogers movies when I was a kid. (And I always feel bad for the horses). I liked the juggler with the hats. His parents with the arrows? Yawn. For veteran circus performers, they didn't seem to have a sense of how to build tension or present the trick so that the audience would feel involved. Guy who burst watermelons with his head? Double yawn. This show has a split personality. They pride themselves on discovering and presenting real talent, then they give four yesses to these Gong Show type acts. Probably the most memorable act of the night, and not necessarily in a good way, was the 5 year old singer/tapper. She was like Robo Tyke, seemingly engineered for this sort of thing. Manufactured adorableness. I fear she's in for the long haul.

On this show you always get points for telling a story involving family members, no matter how lame or unbelievable. Extra points if the story is about your grandmother. If Emilia had said that her grandmother was born on the 4th and thought the fireworks were for her until she was 80, she would've won the episode then and there. If she said it was her Italian or Mexican grandmother (even though she's neither) it would've put her straight into the finals. In addition to other things people have mentioned about Alex that bug, there was his "every time I'm in Tokyo..." opening. Maybe he thought he was establishing his "food authority," but it sounded pretentious and elitist. Since he apparently jets off to Tokyo the way some people drive to the mall, you wonder where he'd get the time to shoot a TV show. Emilia started out the season also using the "I'm a world traveler" shtick, but has thankfully dropped it. Other contestants have tried this angle over the years, and it never seems to work. It definitely does not make you "relatable." Knowing about food from other cultures is cool, but the "last week when I was in Sri Lanka I had the most amazing yadda yadda" bit gets old fast. Leave that stuff to Anthony Bourdain.

As soon as Rosa said in her talking head "where's my protein" I knew she was gone. Would things have been different if she got the rib eyes and Jay was actually challenged by having to cook the Portobellos instead of getting to grill meat. Yet again. What I don't like about the big alpha male contestants on this show is that they generally ride roughshod over their teammates. Especially the women. As soon as they discovered their team had the rib eyes, Jay immediately took possession of them. There was never any question. What if Rosa said that she wanted to do an Italian rib eye? But clearly neither of the women was going to challenge the big bull moose. I think this show never knew what to make of Rosa. Pretty much all female FNS contestants have fallen into a few standard types - the Mom, the cute and perky gal, even the ice princess. But Rosa was different, and I liked her quirky personality. (She reminded me of the actress Mercedes Ruehl in "The Fisher King."). I would much rather have seen her stay than Michelle, who will continue to be totally predictable, in both her food and her "stories." Clearly the judges apply different standards, depending on the contestant. Rosa's proportions being off between mushroom and bread translates into lack of food authority. But Michelle serves raw chicken, the ultimate no-no in terms of health risks, and it's just "you've got to be more consistent." Agree with an earlier poster that Bobby and Giada acting like they'd never heard of chicken katsu was ridiculous. I feel like they're dumbing themselves down for the sake of the audience. Which shows you what they think of the average FN viewer.

The denying that racism exists in America by Fox News and assorted right wing pundits is part of their never ending "American is the greatest country in the history of the world" screed. America is perfect, and if you dare to say it isn't, that we have real problems to confront (ie. racism, poverty, lack of health care), then you are one of those horrible liberals who hate America. (And probably a secret Isis sympathizer.) Even when President Obama talks about the need to take action on one issue or another, he gets called an America hater. Remember Guiliani's "he doesn't love America like we do." So presumably our elected officials should be doing nothing, because everything in America is just great, for everyone. If you believed that, why would you even run for office? Well actually, many Republicans do campaign now by saying "elect me, and I promise I won't do anything." Because you know, government is the problem, not the solution. The only thing that government really needs to do is remove regulations on banks and corporations and make sure that at any given moment we are bombing the shit out of someone, somewhere.

Exactly why if they want to exploit kids they should have a separate show ("AGT Junior") and not have them competing against grown-ups. Because I agree that she has talent and potential, but if I was judging her by the same standards I would use for an adult, there were a lot of problems with that performance. But the judges won't say that, because it would sound mean. Kids are always "graded on a curve," which is not fair to the adult performers. Who, after spending years practicing and developing their talents, could lose out to a kid based on audience sympathy and the cuteness factor. I felt the same way about the brother dancers. They were cute and good for their age, but if judged by the standards of an adult dance act, nothing special. The mentalist was great, and I'm totally baffled. I can understand palming and passing off a playing card, but how do you have an already prepared handwritten note? I will be really interested to see what he comes up with next. He's set himself a high bar. The chainsaw guy was boring and cheesy. Howard always goes nuts for these danger acts, but for me this one didn't even have danger. All it takes is a little spatial sense (which you get from practicing) to know exactly where the chainsaw is in relation to your face. And that's if it was a real blindfold, and not the trick kind that looks black from the outside but which you can see through. Since he did not bring a job up to verify it was a real blindfold, I'm very skeptical. The hand balancer dancing with the manikin was also sort of cheesy, but in an entertaining way. I was glad they put him through, and curious about what he'll do next. Two manikins?

Sita was a disaster from the get-go. Wonder how she could've even been chosen to be on the show. (But then I've thought that about a lot of contestants over the years.) The disparity between the cooking chops of the men and women is huge. Based on what we've seen, there probably isn't one woman who's as good a cook as any of the men. The men all seem to be pros in the kitchen. The women seem to be home cooks. My sense of Michelle is that while her kids are off at school she fills up her day by cooking and posting pictures of her food on the internet. Hence, she's a "food blogger." I don't get what the judges see in her. A different contestant might've gotten raked over the coals for saying "eggplant tentacles," and lectured abut their lack of authority. But she wins the challenge. Apparently the strategy on the women's team was that they'd win if they just said "sexy" enough times. What's "sexy" is the ultimate YMMV, but for me, in connection with "slimy," "stinky" etc. it was just yucky. I'm tired of Jay. I want someone to talk to me. Not yell at me. He is not coaching sports anymore. He yells the way some ex-jocks who do TV sports commentary do, which I always find annoying. It's television. Use your inside voice. Also tired of his ego. Whatever the subject, he's always the best at it. And as someone else posted, his cooking does not back up the big talk. Of all the men, he's probably the most uneven. Arnold was really restrained on this show. Which I actually kind of liked. There's no doubt, based on what we've seen, that he's a great cook. If food authority was really the criteria for winning this show, he's been a lock for at least final two.

Thanks Saber5055 for setting me straight on The Blue Angels. All I know is that every summer they do an air show over Lake Washington, near where I live, and all the cats and dogs in the neighborhood totally freak at the noise. As for our AGD concept, I'm sure it's already been stolen and is "in development."

Glad they grouped all the "extreme" acts into one show (or a portion of a show) as it made it easier to fast forward through. I found all these acts to be different levels of boring or ho hum. And what's what the judges going nuts about the guys jumping off of trampolines and dunking basketballs. Well, I guess they're not big sports fans, because that's a standard half-time show at multiple NBA and college basketball games. Some of these acts may require skill, and training, but that's not the same thing as "talent," as the term is commonly used. The broad definition AGT uses could be applied to pole-vaulters, deep sea divers, the Air Force pilots in The Blue Angels etc. Besides all of which, I just don't find these "danger" acts to be entertaining television. (But then, I was always bored by Evel Kneivel too. Back in the day I found his live TV specials to be endless build up to something that was over very quickly and seemed like a let down. I don't watch Jackass, but obviously a lot of people do. So many the programming geniuses at Fox should create a spin off "America's Greatest Daredevil" show and get these acts off AGT. Then there would be more time to see 10 year old girls singing "I'd Rather Go Blind." Uh, wait a minute, okay. Guess I'd rather watch bushes crashing than that. Of the acts in the first part of the show, I liked the guy with the unpronounceable name who did the ladder tricks. (I'm a fan of silent comedy). His intro said he lived in Vegas, so I assume he is making his living as part of some variety show and has other cool stuff up his sleeve. (Or else he's a bus boy who does his shtick to entertain co-workers in the kitchen).

Am I the only one who thinks that the "surprise" twist of Giada changing her mind because of Matthew's smirk was totally scripted? It hit me as phony for a number of reasons, beginning with the fact that nothing spontaneous like that has ever happened in the history of this show. Then, apparently Giada was about to announce Cita getting booted right off the bat until she changed her mind. I have never seen an elimination where the judges didn't talk to each one of the bottom three first, in order to draw out the suspense. It was like they needed to start with the elimination so they could get right to the shocker. Also, the TV cameras showed Matthew's smirk in close up, but how could all three judges see his facial expression so clearly and respond at the same time. Bobby quickly said "he's very immature," like they would all know exactly what he was talking about. How does that happen? ESP? Or the fact that it was totally scripted? I think they hired Matthew to play a part, and bring up the hash tag, which you'll notice, they are now using in a contest promotion. His "shocking" elimination after two episodes was all according to the script. (And who better to bring on for this little drama than stink eye Alex Guarneshelli?) I just don't believe anything spontaneous happens on this show. I'm calling total shenanigans.

The grossest thing in tack guys act wasn't the blood. It was his taking his shirt off. But maybe that was to make the average American male feel better after the six pack abs of The Vladimirs and the magician. (Though we have to take Mel's word for that, as thankfully he did not perform shirtless.) I did like the magician, although I expected Howard to say he needed to show more "personality." He was clearly nervous, so kudos to him for still pulling off his tricks. He's definitely likeable, which didn't hurt the magician who won last year. My favorite of the night was the ventriloquist. He had some serious skills. That out-of-synch mike bit was great. His act also had wit and charm. (The English accent helps). My favorite hand balancing act is still The Kristoff Brothers, but balancing knife point to knife point? I think that actually defies the laws of physics. Astonishing. And those knives look seriously mean. Can't imagine what they can do for an encore. Oh God, the kid orchestra could become the kid act that's hard to get rid of, even though musically they were nothing special. Even for kids. I also noticed that every single one of them looked like a child actor or model, so the cynic in me thinks they may not really be just a bunch of neighborhood kids. Especially as they come from LA. The cynic in me definitely thinks that Howie's question and the "win a million dollars" answer was a set-up. The 97 year dancer just trumped the 88 year old singer for the role of sentimental senior favorite. And she had some pretty nice gams.

Not that it matters a lot, but my memory of the exchange is that when she asked what he learned, he responded by saying something about needing to be more focused. Then she couldn't resist pressing the point and started in with "as a mother let me tell you something." So as I said, as obnoxious as he may be, I don't blame him for snapping at her. She was over the line, and it had elements of kicking someone when they're down. And I thought that saying he was there to learn from the mentors, not another contestant, was legitimate. Oh wait, I forgot. She's a mother of three. Well alright then, her maternal instincts certainly entitle her to offer unsolicited advice whenever she feels like it. Maybe she will start checking the other contestants nails to see if their are clean. Regarding all the food truck owners, because of the relatively low start-up and operating costs compared to a brick and mortar restaurant, many food trucks are owned by people with little or no professional food experience. It's a way for people who love to cook to take a flyer at seeing if they can actually make a living from it. Without having the resume of an experienced chef that you generally need to attract investors for a restaurant. So I think the food truck thing is really in line with the fact that this show can no longer attract people who have a serious professional culinary background. They have no trouble getting those kinds of people for "Chopped," because that's just a one shot deal. Think about it. What person with a successful food industry career would want to put it on hold to participate in this farce of a show, which has a dubious reward even to the person who actually wins the whole thing? Well, if you look at Arnold, the one contestant who does a real food career, I think you get the answer. Someone who lives for attention.

Kids like what their mother cooks because that's all they know. My ex-wife's mother was English, and she grew up eating everything stewed until it was mush, and thought that's how food was supposed to be cooked. Maybe the sandwich guy can switch to wraps and become The Wrap King. A healthier version of the Sandwich King. Now that would be original. As others have commented, I can't believe that he's gotten even this far with a concept regurgitated from a former winner. Whose sandwich show was just cancelled. And there's something about the guy I find phony and unappealing. In addition to his horrible hair cut. I expect Matthew to be in it for the long haul, as there's a lack of personality among many of the contestants, and the reality TV rule is that a negative personality is better than no personality. It's occurred to me that Dom freezing up on camera might be an act. Otherwise, I don't see why someone who has severe stage fright would audition for a TV show. Or why the producers would put him on.

Michelle even played the child birth card in her opening remarks. I don't even think Melissa d'Arabian pulled that one. Seriously, every season there's at least one contestant who acts as if she's the only female who the world who has ever procreated, and that the special status of being a "mom" is reason enough that we should consider her a food authority. No doubt we will hear on every show "I make this for my kids and they love it." As if that means something. And while Matthew is obnoxious, I would've reacted exactly the same way to a woman who didn't know me from Adam saying, "let me tell you something as a Mother." I can't imagine a co-worker, even one I'd known for years, presuming to act like my surrogate mother and offering me unsolicited advice. Her line before that, "what did you learn from the judges," was also really condescending, like she was a kindergarten or Sunday school teacher. To his credit, Matthew actually did give her a straight answer. There were a couple of other annoying female contestants: "Edgy" Emilia, whose demeanor and personality seemed the exact opposite of edgy (she also said her blog was "racy." Huh?) and "Mama-sita," whose shtick of combining clichéd black woman with clichéd Italian woman was old before she even completed the first sentence out of her mouth. Each season it seems that the professional food credentials of these people gets more and more nebulous, if not completely nonexistent. This year I believe we have a record number of "food bloggers," a title which, with very few exceptions, means nothing. Since I have posted a few Yelp restaurant reviews, I suppose I could call myself a food blogger. Shibori - I also noticed all the Italian-American contestants. In the past Giada has gotten a bit prickly when someone else has claimed the Italian food authority role.