Gbb

Some woman on one of Sunday's shows paid over $600 for a plain cowhide bench that wasn't even that sturdy. Another paid $700 for a buffet that had been painted silver (from the same seller). I'd never seen anything more ridiculous.

"Just like a marriage ... The husband can't get a word in edgewise." That's remotely misogynistic to me. I don't hate Dom, but I hate that he's in the finale after stinking up nearly every presentation all season long, taking the place of someone who can cook and isn't terrified on camera.

So all 3 of them are being shoehorned into travel and taste shows? That just sucks. There are approximately 80 of them on the air as we speak. At least Jay and Dom have a ready supply of restaurants to theoretically visit. It sounds like Eddie just got handed a cuisine by the producers. "You want healthy cooking with a Carribean flair? Too specific. You're from Texas. Do barbecue." *sigh* Still want Eddie to win. If I have to watch a suck tactic show, I want some eye-candy with it.

Thanks, that was really great. I particularly liked his response about Bobby Flay's take on his more subtle flavors and why he didn't adjust them. You may not be able to answer this (and if so, ignore) but we're you able to ask or did he not answer the question about why we haven't seen Suzy Wong on FNS.

Wow, talk about lop-sided tasks. The producers should be ashamed.

She was the only one that had to do it?? I don't want to derail this thread, but could someone give me a quick/short explanation?

Did Lifetime only order 10 eps as a test? They are coming back, aren't they?

Good lord, which was was that? Must've been before I started watching. It sounds ridiculous.

I think she needs to drop the "Nell." "Ashley Tipton" has a great ring to it for a designer. "Who are you wearing?" "Ashley Tipton."

I'm very surprised the recap didn't talk at all about Farkle's epiphany and his decision not to change back. It was one of the key moments for the episode and has long-range implications for the character.

I liked most of the episode even though I'm not usually fond of the writers' hands being quite so visible. Acknowledge Maya and Lucas's chemistry: check Acknowledge Riley and Lucas's lack of chemistry: check Establish a reason (sibling-vibe) for Riley/Lucas just being friends: check Get Farkle out of the turtlenecks to he can be a hottie for the Tweens: check Remind viewers that Katie has a thing for Shawn: check I'm not saying that some or all of those things didn't need to happen or that I have a problem with them. Just that the script felt like it was working systematically through somebody's notes. I liked Lucas in this ep a lot. And Farkle. Not so much Riley. I'm sure she was told to play it that way, but her "identity crisis" seemed far more like playing dress-up/make-believe than Farkle's did. I would have been more interested in seeing her deal with a genuine bout of cynicism/sadness. I liked Farkle's identity crisis, for the most part (except for the "I'm Donnie Whatshisname" bits). It felt somewhat real. And I'm glad they're allowing him to grow and change.

Wish I'd seen this before watching. It was driving me crazy trying to figure out where I knew him from. I had to stop and google him during the ep! Now that I (vaguely) remember him, I (vaguely) recall that he was a decent guy on Top Chef, kind of like he was on Chopped: affable and competent. Speaking of which, I thought his entree looked far better than the other two, but I guess the garlic in the pesto must have been really overpowering.

I'm really looking forward to seeing Ashley design for plus size this season, so I hope they're given the opportunity. But it struck me last night that the outfit she designed could easily have worked for plus-size as well, especially the skirt. The top would have worked in a different fabric and perhaps without the large triangular cut-out in the back. When one of the judges mentioned she'd have like to see the top as more of a crop top, I wondered if Ashley designed it to reach the waist in the front because that works better for plus-size. But more likely it was because she knows you don't need a copped length in the front when half the back is gone, kind of like the low-cut vs. short skirt equation. I really like her so far. I haven't watched PR in a few seasons (just got burnt out on all the manufactured drama) but I'm glad I tuned in last night. So I guess I'm along for the ride again :) Isn't he the one who said he had no interest in designing anything pretty? I get that "interesting" does not always equal "beautiful" but having no interest in designing anything pretty? I don't get why he's here.

He mentioned putting cayenne in the chocolate. I think that was his nod to New Orleans.

It's funny. Jeff's been a little snarky about Alex in his blog for Food Network Star. Last week he called him out for using some line about sandwiches Jeff had used when he was a contestant. He went on to say he knew he'd been hard on Alex but he respected him and his cooking. Still, I find it interesting that neither one of them ever mentioned the sandwich thing when they were on together.

What tonight's episode showed me is that only Eddie and Jay are really ready to be on a FN show, at least without a lot more prep-work and hand-holding. Both of them are consistently the most comfortable on camera and they're the only two who understood to pull in the others during their segments. And I thought Eddie showed excellent instincts for what to say to keep things moving during Alex and Arnold's parts. Of everyone left, including those on Star Salvation, Eddie is really the only one I'd like to see a show from. He'd bring some much-needed diversity to the channel, and I don't mean his race. FN has plenty of Southern cooking shows, plenty of good ol' boys, plenty of Italian cooks... What they don't have is a hot, fit guy showing us tasty, good for you food with a Caribbean bent. Actually, I can live without the Carribean thing and hope he drops it from his POV. Just show me good-tasting, good for me food. And maybe demonstrate the correct form for push-ups from time to time. Shirtless or not, your call.

Once they all decided what to cook, they may have had someone run get all the necessary ingredients. 45 minutes to cook probably doesn't mean there's not sometimes a delay before they start cooking/filming. I'd guess there's a lot of "hurry up and wait" going on.

It ended with, "and the winner of Star Salvation is..."

Yes, they all did really well.

That's my Eddie!

Well that sucked. We have to wait. Still, I'd bet that Giada is somewhere holding Jeff and Alex's family hostage until they send Dom back to her, so...

She's definitely improved since Top Chef, but I don't know anyone who could limbo under that bar.

Well, Laura said she junked up the living room to stop John from bringing his drinking buddies over. I'm sure that's as true as the fact that she's not a hoarder and the kitchen's a mess because John doesn't rinse his plate after he eats.

Sounds really good. How were you able to see it early?

Love it! They'd never criticize existing FN shows, but everything else about this is a home run. I really would love it if Eddie focused on *delicious* food that's good for you. Nothing over the top crazy, just real food that doesn't dump a ton of crap into your bloodstream and still manages to taste good. I'd watch that in a heartbeat.