Now that Summer is OFFICIALLY over

or at least it seems that way after the 113 degree heat we had in Los Angeles last week, we've moved on to our permanent blog TV GOODNESS. We hope you'll join us over there for new stuff and continue here for the old.

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The Summer 7: My Favorite Shows of Summer 2010 by Tina Charles

The Summer 2010 TV Season is quickly coming to an end. And I have to say I think I've watched more television this long hiatus break than ever before. So just as the Fall TV shows start to invade the airwaves here are the seven shows that snapped, crackled and popped on the small screen. They all made my must-see list this summer.

• Leverage, TNT: I decided to make the commitment and start watching TNT's grifter thriller in its third season. I quickly found out that it's a perfect summer show. It's fun, has a great cast, the cases are almost always intriguing and it is generally a great way to spend an hour. Now I'm going to have to make another commitment. I'm going to have to pick up Seasons 1 and 2 and catch up from the beginning.

• White Collar, USA Network: I quickly marathon'd Season 1 in order to watch Season 2 in real time. So happy that I did. White Collar returned and delivered great episode after great episode. Two reasons why I love this show are its stars Matthew Bomer and Tim Dekay. More reasons why I dig White Collar are its supporting cast in Tiffani Thiessen, Willie Garson, Marsha Thomason and Sharif Atkins. I just hope in upcoming seasons Marsha and Sharif will be even more involved in the action and get some back stories.

• Rizzoli & Isles, TNT: TNT's newest hit procedural has also turned out to be a hit with me. Detective Jane Rizzoli and Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Maura Isles are a dynamic duo when it comes to fighting crime. What's even better is that some of the issues that I had with this show at the beginning of the season have finally worked itself out. This show has plenty of potential to live on for a long time.

• Chopped, Food Network: All I know is that this show has such a simple concept and it's provided me with hours of entertainment. The wannabe Chopped champions really earn their 10,000 bucks and I love to see what these cooking MacGyvers can make out of the wildest ingredients. Make a potato dessert? No problem. Shuck a bunch of clams or oysters in the allotted 20 minutes for the appetizer round? No problem. Find a way to make an edible concoction out of curry paste, arugula, peanut butter and pork loin? No problem. Plus it seems that the cheftestants that were part of this summer's lineup were particularly interesting as well as talented. Then Food Network upped the ante by beginning to air the Chopped Championship. We're two episodes in and I'm loving all these champions that have returned for a chance to win 50,000 dollars. The competition is fierce.
  

• Childrens Hospital, Adult Swim: I don't know what compelled me to start watching this web sensation turned Adult Swim newbie, but I'm sure happy that I did. This bite-sized comedy series features an all-star cast. The Rob Corddry-creation reeled in big names like Megan Mullally, Henry Winkler and one of my personal favorites, Ken Marino. And it did something that NBC's Surface wasn't able to do. It got me to like Lake Bell. While Bell left the show at the beginning of Season 2 (although good news, she will be back later this season), we're now getting used to Watchmen blonde babe Malin Akerman. Haven't figured out her character yet but I'll be around to find out. One of my favorite characters from the first and a little bit of the second season is the patient (Nick Kroll) who suffered from the aging disease. Hilarious doesn't even describe him. I hope this series that comes in a little package (each episode is only about 11 minutes long) continues to bring the laughs for a long time to come.

• True Blood, HBO: I've seen Seasons 1 and 2 of True Blood but I watched them both marathon-style after the finales and before the next season started. I never felt the need to watch real time. That all changed with Season 3. Now I am compelled (glamoured maybe?) to watch the over-the-top in a good way happenings of the Bon Temps residents whether they're human, undead, animal-like or even faerie (I still can't forget Sookie's reaction to finding out she was not quite human). Russell has been a formidable villain and his relationship with Talbot was definitely entertaining. Eric Northman just rocks every which way especially when he's in scenes with Pam. I have had a couple issues with Season 3 (namely Sam and Jason's story lines), but it really doesn't matter because everything else was just so damn addictive. The addition and then subtraction of Franklin was simply sizzling and the introduction of werewolf hottie Alcide was quite awesome. I've felt bad for what Tara had to go through and relished the closeness she had with her cousin Lafayette. And I'm really happy Lafayette got some TLC of his own in the form of Jesus. Now it's time for the finale and then we're going to have to say goodbye to a season that gave us Jessica and Hoyt and had one of the most twisted TV sex scenes of all time thanks to Bill and Lorena. Yup, True Blood has been truly blood-sucking good.
  

• Pretty Little Liars, ABC Family: I took an instant liking to this high school soap/murder mystery although I was originally cautious. I wondered how long I was going to be able to handle all the secrets like who this mysterious "A" texter really is going to turn out to be. But the story has developed nicely. I still have no clue whodunit which is a good thing and I really liked the summer finale. Hanna finding out who's terrorizing the friends and then getting hit by a car really drums up the drama and makes me want the winter to get here now so we can continue the action. My issue with this show is how every guy (and some girls) want to date these 16-year-olds no matter how old the guy is. Spencer has moments with both of her older sister's boyfriends? The teacher can't help but be drawn to Aria? I don't know if I'm totally buying all of that business. Regardless, I love the young cast. The adults are some of my favorites (Charmed's Holly Marie Combs, Chad Lowe from Life Goes On and especially Melrose Place's Laura Leighton). I'm not too cool with Bryce Johnson's sleazy cop but no matter, I already love him on Fox's Lone Star. Like many of the other selections on this list, Pretty Little Liars makes the perfect summer show and it'll definitely heat things up when the drama comes back in the winter.
  

The Summer 7: WGA Panel featuring Emmy-nominated Writers from Modern Family, Glee, FNL etc. by Tina Charles

7 things I learned at Thursday night's often hilarious Sublime Primetime panel that featured some of this year's Emmy-nominated writers from TV miniseries, sitcoms and dramas (courtesy of the Writers Guild Foundation):

• "Television, I don't know if anyone knows this, is super easy." - Glee's Ian Brennan said this after moderator and Lost guru Carlton Cuse pointed out how Brennan went from actor to being nominated for an Emmy for his very first writing gig.

• We now know the format for Conan O'Brien's upcoming TBS late night talk show: "Have you seen the other two? Kind of like that. Guests, a band, celebrities selling b---s--t. Pretty much like that." Love that this "insight" came from the always funny 2010 Emmy-nominee (and not to mention Conan sidekick) Andy Richter.

• Not that this is a shocker but The Office's Mindy Kaling is freakin' hilarious. As is Modern Family co-creator/Executive Producer Steve Levitan and Lost showunner/Executive Producer Cuse who had to face down a few jokes about the lack of answers from his Emmy-nominated show that's up for Best Drama series. He was a trooper.
  

• The audience loved CBS' The Good Wife. When it came time for the audience portion of the Q&A many questions were thrown at husband-wife writing team and creators of CBS' hit drama Robert and Michelle King. News (at least to me) was that the married couple originally pitched Good Wife to ABC but the alphabet network passed.
  

• None of the Glee "boys" (Brennan, Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk) have seen Disney Channel's High School Musical. This band of three were referred to as "the Glee boys" or "the Glee guys" so often that Ian at one point insisted they had real names. Very funny moment.
  

• Mindy follows her Office character on Twitter.

• We learned what these writers watch on TV: Kaling adores AMC's Breaking Bad; Levitan tunes into Showtime's Weeds; Murphy is a big, big fan of A&E's Hoarders; HBO's Deadwood pretty much ruined TV for Richter because he loved it so much although he has been known to tune into Bravo's Top Chef and "whatever's on." The Pacific's Robert Schenkkan and Friday Night Lights scribe Rolin Jones were completely devoted to The Wire. Jones got real specific and said he was way into The Wire Seasons 3 and 4 the most.
  

The WGA event was definitely enjoyable and the panel was both hilarious and insightful plus Cuse was a great moderator. One of my favorite pieces of advice came from Richter on how to become the next big thing: "Don't be a sh--ty writer." And the entire panel ended on a high note with an audience member wrapping it all up by capitalizing on one of the evening's running jokes that would take too long to describe. Just trust me, it was as if the ending had been scripted.

The 62nd Emmy Awards air on Sunday, August 29th on NBC @ 8PM/Eastern.

The night's featured players included:

• From Lost: Carlton Cuse who moderated the evening.

• From The Office: Mindy Kaling
  

• From The Pacific: Bruce C. McKenna

• Also from The Pacific: Robert Schenkkan

• From Modern Family: Steve Levitan

• From Friday Night Lights: Rolin Jones

• From The Good Wife: Robert King

• Also from The Good Wife: Michelle King

• From Glee: Brad Falchuk
  

• Also from Glee: Ryan Murphy

• One more from Glee: Brad Falchuk

• Conan's Andy Richter

UPDATE: a link to a brief Steve Levitan interview courtesy of WriteOnline.com:

True Blood: Night on the Sun by Tina Charles

How nasty, dirty and insane (in a good way) is True Blood? There's so much that goes on during "Night On the Sun" that at the beginning of the episode everything seems dire in Bill and Sookie's world and it looks like the two lovers will be apart forever. Yet by the end the ex-couple is having hot and heavy makeup sex in Gran's house. And it's actually plausible how the two get from A to B. At the beginning Eric is kneeling before Russell and by the end the sexy vamp is getting rid of Russell's whiny BF Talbot while they're going at it mind you. We definitely know how Eric gets from A to B in that situation. I love episodes that take us for a rollercoaster ride. Besides the sex and violence, there are some seriously angsting women (Sookie, Tara, Arlene and Jessica); a sizable amount of guy on guy action (Lafayette/Jesus and Eric/Talbot), a healthy dose of crazy (Ruby Jean and Debbie) plus tons of blood thanks to more deaths, a scissor-slashing, werewolf maulings, a stake in the back and I can't forget all the crocodile tears of blood.

Scenes I love:

• Bill releases Jessica and she won't go. Jessica is scared and she's still so new to the vampire thing that I don't blame her. I'm glad Bill listens to her even though he's screwed up all to hell.

• Tara and Lafayette in the bedroom. I like that Tara's showing the effects of what happened between her and Franklin. She admits she fought like a motherf----r to survive. It's good to know she doesn't have a death wish like she did in the Season 3 premiere.

• Alcide and Sookie have a couple of moments. I love anytime these two are in a scene together. True Blood has totally turned me into a Joseph Mangianello fan. One Tree Hill couldn't do it, but this HBO vampire/werewolf show did. And I'm happy about it. First Alcide and Sookie are talking and he ends up comforting her by stroking her hair. It's a small gesture but you can tell they're attracted to each other. And later Alcide has to go take care of his sister after he learns Debbie and her crew trashed his sister's salon. They say goodbye and there's this moment where it looks like they're about to kiss but they don't. I feel it's too soon for them, but the moment's sweet.
  

• Arlene's dream. Wow, who knew we would finally get another glimpse of Arlene's late ex, Rene. The serial killer popped up in her dreams creepily rubbing her tummy and talking about how his baby is going to finish the job he started. Poor Arlene. I wonder if this is going to cause her to take care of things in the future?

• Sookie and Tara sunbathe. The best friends reminisce and have a moment until the topic of Bill comes up. Those two need to not about Bill. Tara calls Sookie a dumb b--ch if she goes back to her ex-vampire boyfriend. Sookie says she and Bill aren't that different.

• Sam comforts Tara. It's unfortunately too quick of a scene, Tara is freaking out at Merlotte's and Sam walks in on it and she ends up crying in his arms. I love when Sam Trammell and Rutina Wesley are in scenes together.

• Jesus comes to pick up Ruby Jean. Lafayette's mom refuses to go back to the home saying she needs to protect her son because of his power. Jesus says he won't let anything happen to Lafayette. I love that. Was he just appeasing Ruby Jean when he agreed that Lafayette's powerful? Or does he know something?
  

• Jessica and Bill spar. Bill training Jessica is so cool. And I like that the two open up to each other. Bill talks about Sookie and Jessica tells Bill about loving Hoyt. Bill/Jessica scenes are among my favorite.

• Jesus kisses Lafayette. I like that Jesus wants to protect Lafayette. Someone needs to take care of him for a change. Much like everyone else on this show, he's had it rough as of late. The two are just cute together.
  

• Shirtless Eric. Need I say more? I don't think so.

• Jessica kills Gus the werewolf: Don't mess with Jessica. Russell thought Gus (Don Swayze) was going to rip Jessica to shreds. Turns out it's the other way around. So both Bill and Jessica take care of a couple of werewolves.
  

• Sookie and Debbie smackdown: The fight between Sookie and Debbie is a vicious one which is awesome. Sookie gets away from Debbie by slashing her face with some scissors. Wish Sookie had done more. That Debbie's tres annoying.
  

• Eric kills Talbot: Eric takes revenge on Russell by killing his "family." Stakes him in the back. Ouch. I feel bad that Talbot's a casualty of war. He was growing on me as a character even though he could be a bit too whiny. Killing Talbot also served as a way for Russell to stop the beat down he had going on with Bill. He fled Gran's house once he felt Talbot die.

• Bill and Sookie have makeup sex. Well I think it's makeup sex. It's a pretty vicious bout of sex. We'll have to see the fallout next episode. Will Sookie be the dumb b---h Tara said she would be if she went back to Bill?
  

What I didn't like:

• Anything with Jason and Crystal. Crystal shows up at Jason's wet with a black eye and in need of help. She tells Jason she broke up with her brute of a fiance. Jason tells her she makes him feel like he's home. I'm just not buying it. I think he likes the mystery of her. I think he likes the fact that she needs him. Right now she gives him purpose. Well, anything that gets him off his Bill vendetta is good I guess.
  

• Tommy tells Hoyt Jessica's way out of his league. I want to like Tommy I do. And because of Sam I always start to, but then Tommy ends up doing something to ruin that good will of mine. This time he goes after Hoyt. He tells Hoyt Jessica's done with him and that he's out of his league.

• Jason goes after Crystal's fiance. I hate to keep picking on Jason but I just don't like this story. I'm glad he found someone he can actually try to help but it's just not interesting me. He goes to their house and he finds some sort of man (I say sort of because while he looks human he doesn't act like one) going to town on some dead animal. His mouth is all bloody and disgusting. Jason gets out of there and runs into Crystal's dad and lays down the law.
  

Questions

• Is Tara going through some sort of Stockholm Syndrome thing with Franklin? After all, she did have that erotic dream where Franklin shows up while she's taking a shower.

• What is up with Lafayette? Is he special? His crazy mom Ruby Jean breaks out of the home saying she wants to protect him because "they're" coming for him. Who's "they?" Does she really mean vampires and witches? And Jesus says dealing drugs is dangerous for someone like Lafayette. "All that energy you've got. It can go dark if you like." What does Jesus know?
  

Random Thoughts

• Merlotte's new waitress is kind of creepy looking.
• Hadley relays Eric's message to Sookie. She warns her cousin that Russell's after her and to not trust Bill. Of course Sookie doesn't listen.
• Talbot starts to shatter Russell's collection. Love how Eric stops him from breaking his family's crown.
• Something's up with Crystal's family. Her dad can sense Sam's a shapeshifter.
  

Racy yet Awesome Lines

Debbie: "She's a c--t."
Russell: "But she's a special c--t."

Ruby Jean: "TV's all f------s and murderers and Hos, Jesus."


Other favorite lines

Sookie: "If I knew what was best for me I would have fallen in love with someone like you."
Alcide: "Back at you. It's too bad we're so stupid, huh?"

Jessica: "No way."
Bill: "Way."

Talbot (to Eric): "I'm bored. Take off your clothes."

Eric: "It's been a long time since I've done this."
Talbot: "A man?"
Eric: "No, a vampire."

The Summer 7: Leverage by Tina Charles

Seven reasons to watch TNT's Leverage:

1. It's hella fun. Leverage does feature some dramatic elements, but the reason why I keep coming back for more is because it's a lot of fun. The way the characters come up with their plan of strategy regarding the week's big case; the way they execute the big plan almost always involves some sort of dress-up or acting in an over-exaggerated manner to fool the big bad of the week; plus they make the villain look really stupid so it's awesome to see him or her get arrested at the end. It's the perfect summer show because it doesn't overtax my brain or weigh it down with heavy drama.
   
2. The cast chemistry. I admittedly just got hooked on this show in Season 3 (I have a lot of catching up to do). But one of my main criteria for tuning into a show is cast chemistry. I have to instantly like the cast, I don't like to have to work for it. I can't believe I never tuned into Leverage before, because the entire cast works so well off each other. It starts with Timothy Hutton as Nate. He's like the Hannibal Smith of this "family." He shares a special type of chemistry with each cast member but especially with Gina Bellman's Sophie. My favorite pairings however, have to be between Eliot and Hardison as well as Hardison and Parker. Christian Kane, Aldis Hodge and Beth Reisgraf sparkle in their scenes together. They each play characters with distinct personalities and they make it all work in their case-centric scenes as well as the scenes when the characters aren't trying to get the bad guy.
3. The characters. I've talked about the cast, now it's time to talk about the characters. Like I mentioned previously, the characters all have distinct personalities. And I like that they each bring something to the table. Nate's the brains of the operation; Sophie's able to scam her way into any situation; Eliot's the muscle; Parker can steal anything and Hardison's the tech guy that can hack into anything. Everyone's essential to the family and each case and I love that. And the relationships between the characters is also interesting. I like to see how they interact and every time I learn something new about them it just adds to their well drawn out characters. They are more than just what they bring to the table however. The fact that the show utilized Christian Kane's singing talents and had Eliot sing in an episode was awesome. And yes, consider me a Parker/Hardison (Pardison? Harker?) shipper. I want these two together. Love that they're sort of exploring that this season. I wonder how far the show will go?
   
4. The cases. Whatever the case may be, I get pretty caught up in them. It's very Ocean's 11 the way they go about doing the good deed of the week. What I mean by that is that the way they go about it is usually very cool and slick and suspenseful. But this crew helps the good guys by nailing the bad guys. And I love trying to guess which way they're going to take out the villain-of-the-week.
5. The titles. This is a simple reason why I love Leverage. I just like the names of the episodes. The titles each have "the" and "job" in it and then some sort of description for what goes on during the hour. It's not the first show that's done something like this, but I like it. So we get names like "The Studio Job" and "The Double-Blind Job." It all adds to the show's cool factor.
   
6. The action. I love seeing how Nate goes about stealing a train to get Eliot and Hardison out of a sticky situation and how Hardison helps Parker get into and out of a high tech security situation. I especially love the action that Eliot provides. He's the one that gets into several fights every week. After all, he's the brawn to Nate's brain. I'm all for as much action as possible and Leverage provides a lot of it. It's not all talk. They do stuff.
7. The guest stars. This show doesn't make us guess who the bad guy is. We pretty much know from the beginning. So Leverage often features name guest stars as the bad guys of the week. I just hate on other shows that it's so easy to guess the bad guy because the guest star is someone pretty well known. What other part are they going to play? So on this TNT hit show, John Schneider and Bill Engvall can come on, and we're not trying to guess if they're the villain, we're just trying to guess how Nate and his team are going to bring these bad guys down. Richard Chamberlin did come on as Parker's mentor and that was such a good guest star get. And now we know Tom Skerritt's coming on the show as Nate's dad. Keep the great guest stars coming, Leverage!

Leverage has already been renewed for a fourth season which is very exciting. You can tune into this fun show Sunday nights @ 9/8C and 9PT.

True Blood: Hitting the Ground by Kara Howland

Wow. My fingers are practically falling off from all that fast and furious note taking. Talk about non-stop action. Let’s get right to it.

Lorena Dies a True Death

I don’t know about you but Tina Charles and I are very glad she finally met her demise, and at Sookie’s hand. Not only did I dread her every appearance but she polluted Bill in my opinion. I still have trouble believing he had sex with her earlier in the season – which, I think, in True Blood time was last week. It still makes me shudder. Thank God She’s Dead (TGSD). I don’t know if she met her demise this way in the books but I say good riddance.

Alcide Kills Cooter

Debbie is looking like such a crack whore these days. Not only is she going through serious V withdrawal when she stumbles upon Alcide, Sookie, and Tara trying to make a getaway with their vampire burrito but that little encounter gives us some good back story on the two former lovebirds. Alcide refused to get Debbie pregnant because he didn’t want his kid to be a wolf. Very interesting. And where did that gun come from? It’s very telling that he refuses to pull it until Cooter shows up. When Alcide kills Cooter Debbie vows to hunt him down. I can’t wait to see that.

Russell Beheads the Magister, But Not Before He Gets Married

Just as the magister is about to pierce Pam’s eyelid with a sterling silver earring from Tiffany’s – and don’t you know it Pam is a Tiffany’s kind of girl – Eric barges in. It is so nice to see Eric come to her rescue, finally. Pam was definitely a trooper and managed to keep her sense of humor throughout her confinement. The magister learns Eric is now loyal to Russell after he turns on his Queen. When the magister tries to arrest Sophie-Anne, Russell will have none of it. As the magister threatens to report Russell to the “authority” the magister finds himself on the very table he used to torture Pam. Russell claims he’s the new authority in town and demands that the magister marry him. After a bit of torture from his own device, the magister relents and weds the King of Mississippi to the Queen of Louisiana. Russell states that he only recognizes the law of nature right before beheading the magister.

Tara Thinks She Turns Bill Into Ash

Sookie opens up her arm and gets Bill to drink. But she gets more then she bargains for when Bill overpowers her and nearly drains her dry. And the kick is that he doesn’t even remember it. When Tara discovers Sookie motionless in the back of the truck she kicks Bill to the curb. And what’s strange is that he doesn’t start steaming up immediately. It shocks Bill too but as the truck pulls away, he starts to get crispy and quickly takes shelter.

Sookie Discovers a Bit More About Her Powers

That might be overstating things but we do seem to learn a little more. In her strange dream state (heaven?), Sookie meets Claudine. She tells Sookie she’s in the hospital and that they must refill her cup. Sookie has had this drink before. A woman emerges from the pond and we learn the pond is deeper then we can imagine. After some dancing, Sookie needs to take a break. Claudine doesn’t want Sookie to go back. When Bill shows up in Sookie’s hospital room, day turns into night in the dream and all the other people (or beings) quickly get into the water. Sookie can’t swim so she can’t join them. When she collapses in the dream, Sookie wakes up in real life after Bill has given her his blood intravenously. And she starts screaming. The last thing Claudine said to her in the dream was that “he” would take her light. Can she mean Bill or is there something else out there that wants it?

Sam Saves His Brother From Their Parents

Sam finds the location of the dog fights and approaches a man who is guarding a dirt road. I have to admit to liking the persona Sam adopts when he has talking to that back road hick. I didn’t like the words coming out of his mouth but I did like his cocky attitude. It made him hotter. And that only made me want to see him in a better story line. I’m just not appreciating this one. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad Sam put an end to that dog-fighting ring. Now I’d like to see Tommy stop being so bratty and I’d love to see a new love interest for Sam.

Jason Is A Love-Sick Puppy

Even though Jason claims he was in love with Lizzie Caplan’s Amy, I think this is truly his first time. He was a love virgin before now. I had to laugh when Jason wondered aloud of Crystal was named after the champagne. First of all, Jason, that’s Cristal not Crystal. Hoyt (oh, it’s so good to see him) thinks maybe Crystal’s middle name is Meth. I had to laugh. So as not to watch Jason mope around the house, Hoyt suggests Jason pay a visit to the drug dealer Jason apprehended when he first saw Crystal. It turns out the Tdub is Crystal’s cousin. And he’s happy to give Jason information on Crystal if Jason will get him some meth. He’s jonesing bad.

Summer Makes Her Intentions Known to Hoyt

She’s adorable. While I kinda want to hold out hope for a Hoyt and Jessica reunion, I have to admit to warming up to Summer. Her little vampire joke at the door is so cute and I love that she’s baking for her man. Well, the man her man could smell like. Sorry, I was thinking about all those awesome Old Spice commercials. She’s thinking about the man she wants to make hers. Summer wants Hoyt to be her boyfriend. Now that she’s made her intentions clear she goes about sprucing the place up.

Other things I found interesting:

- I think it’s kinda awesome that Hadley whispers something about Sookie in Eric’s ear that we don’t hear. And it’s so interesting that Queen Sophie-Anne really doesn’t want Eric to know that secret. I can’t wait to find out what it is and when he’ll talk to Sookie about it.

- Sookie’s parents didn’t die in the flood. What? If they didn’t die in the flood, how did they die? And why?

- Sookie doesn’t have a blood type. Her body rejects O, the universal donor. She also wasn’t born in a hospital.

- Lafayette prays over Sookie, using words from the Inuit.

- Andy knows he’s made a huge mistake in letting Jason become a cop in training. Like, duh.

Is this really the end for Sookie and Bill? I hope not although I have to admit to wanting to see her with Eric or Alcide or both. And Halleluiah and we’ve gotten our Tara back. It was fun watching her be so scared by Franklin – who, by the way, can’t be dead yet. Tara didn’t stake him or cut his head off. But it’s nice to see Tara fighting for her friend and being pissed when Jason undermines her authority. And what do you think will happen when Russell discovers that Sookie is gone? It’s gonna be awesome.

True Blood: I Got a Right to Sing the Blues by Tina Charles

I'm kind of exhausted after watching "I Got a Right to Sing the Blues" but in a good way. The episode is fast-paced, has a lot of action and while I'm not into everything that happened it entertains from beginning to end. Tara gets to be so badass I practically screamed "it's about time!" Her character has drifted into the unlikable territory so when she manages to escape Franklin's clutches (more on that awesomeness later) and grab Sookie, I'm quickly loving the character again. We finally get to see more of Lafayette & Jesus although things predictably don't go smoothly. "I Got a Right to Sing the Blues" isn't only a great episode title, I think it's something every character in Bon Temps has the urge to shout from time to time. And is anyone enjoying the abundance of red-headed females on this show? Jessica, Arlene and a very strawberry-blonde Queen Sophie-Anne give red-heads a good name.

During the full hour of TV goodness, I asked a lot of questions:

What is Sookie?

Sookie's origin is one of this season's biggest questions. She had to get her abilities from somewhere. We learn that her grandfather also had mysterious powers. Once Sookie's dragged back to Russell's manse, Mississippi's Vampire King tries to find out the waitress' story. There's a real nice scene where they're asking each other questions. They're both being kind of bratty about it. Russell dishes some dirt on Sookie's former BF. He tells her Bill has been keeping a secret file on her and her family and he hands it over. Wonder if she'll confront her ex about the file? Sookie's interrogation yields more and more info about vampires. The girl is gaining a lot of knowledge about both the vampire and werewolf cultures. I'm curious to know what Sookie's deal is. Again, I have not read the books so I seriously have no idea what she really is.

How badass is Tara in this episode?

I've already admired the winning ways of badass Tara, but let's break this down. I think Rutina Wesley did an awesome job trying to clumsily seduce Franklin. She works on getting him to if not trust her, at least untie her. Tara's had it bad this season. She hasn't really even had the chance to mourn Eggs properly before she becomes the obsession of an evil vamp who likes to tie her up and wants to marry her. But her attempts at seduction are at first humorous and quickly turn nasty. When Franklin encourages her to drink his blood, she starts gnawing on him big and bad and he's just getting off on it. Such a gross scene! And then when he's asleep she grabs a weapon and bashes his head in over and over. At which point I wanted to scream at Tara that she was going to have to do better than that. But it worked for the time being. Then she scams her way past a werewolf thug played by Don Swayze (Gus) and convinces Sookie to get the hell out of dodge. After she and Sookie take care of Gus in bold fashion, Tara runs out of the house and into Alcide who's there to help. Sookie goes after Bill.

What's up with Sam's family?

Okay, I have a confession. Sam's probably one of my favorite characters on this show but I'm not totally feeling his Season 3 storyline with his horribly dysfunctional clan. We know they have a big secret, something Joe Lee has been exploiting, which could be anything considering mom and son are shapeshifters. Turns out it could be some sort of dog fighting ring. Very Michael Vick, if you will. I'm kind of anxious to find out what this dog fighting business entails. It can't be good. Melinda seems to be showing her true colors. Was it Sam's adopted family that said his biological clan weren't good people? I can't remember. But his parents are not. They're devious and don't seem to care about anything but themselves and their secret. Melinda as much says Sam's only blood, not family. So I'm rooting for Sam to save Tommy for sure. I'm also worried about him tackling the world of dog fighting since the dog he shifts into seems pretty tame.

How is Eric going to make things up to Sookie?

He's a vampire, he doesn't have to make anything up to Sookie, but for a Sookie/Eric shipper like me (to be fair I'm also a Sookie/Alcide shipper and occasionally a Sookie/Bill shipper) I want him to help Sookie, not hurt her. But I get it. Russell killed his family, he needs to work the revenge angle right now. That Eric is good however. He really makes it seem like he's a true blue Russell follower. I love the way Eric flirts with everyone. He knows what he's got and he flaunts it. He's the most flirtatious character on the show, even more than Lafayette. And I for one love it. I also like the fact he turned on Queen Sophie-Anne. In the back of his mind he's also thinking about Pam, who we don't see for the second episode in a row. Poor Pam, she's off being tortured while Russell makes Eric take care of the Queen with him. Russell blackmails the Queen into marrying him. He's gaining more power with Eric on as muscle.

How much do I love Lafayette & Jesus?

These two are a pretty sexy pair but the road isn't going to be easy. They flirt at Merlotte's; they kiss in the car and then again at Lafayette's place. But once those bullies (from a previous episode) arrive and start bashing his car things go wrong. Jesus finds out Lafayette's a drug dealer and specifically that he deals V. Jesus wants to go home. It's cold shower time for all involved. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next for the budding couple.

What's my problem with Jason?

Much like Sam's family, I haven't been feeling Jason this season especially his attempts at blackmailing his way onto the Bon Temps PD and his inability to let go of his golden years (although this is pretty realistic). I will say that his "what am I doing with my life and what purpose do I serve" mentality is definitely something everyone can relate to but the way he's gone about things has almost ruined his character for me a little bit. In "I Got a Right to Sing the Blues" he's making out with the mysterious but aggressive Crystal. She definitely has a big secret (I read the spoiler) and it turns out she also has a fiance. But just when I'm about to write off Jason, he says this line that makes him seem extremely vulnerable and then I fall in love with him all over again. He asks her not to break his heart. She ends up getting scared and leaves and then later when he shows up at her place she pretends not to know who he is. I don't blame her since she's standing next to her fiance (is he the guy that was wailing on Lafayette's car?). Jason takes out his frustrations on that stupid high school athelete that's the next big thing. Something's gotta be up with this kid. Wonder when we're going to find out.


Why are we plagued with the being known as Lorena?

I'm trying to love to hate Lorena but I just can't. I'm not buying the character at all. I get it, she made Bill, she's into him. She's insulted he feels nothing for her now. But even though Lorena and Bill are at odds, I'd like to feel that there was once a connection between these two. I'd like to feel like I get why those two were once wreaking havoc on the world together. But I feel nothing when Lorena's on except some contempt. So Bill's maker's told to kill Bill and she starts doing so in such a slow drawn-out manner. She hates that Bill feels nothing towards her. She cries rivers of blood while she's slicing and dicing him. Unfortunately once Sookie finds Bill, Lorena sees the opportunity to get rid of her competition and slams Sookie against the wall and proceeds to bite her and drink her blood. Sookie's in a world of hurt as we see in the previews for next week. If it's even possible, the previews for next week look even more awesome than when I watched the ones for this week.

Random Thoughts

• Russell is seeking world vampire domination. So over-the-top but I'm totally on board with his lofty goals.
• Talbot definitely let us see him sweat when he went off on his VBF (vampire boyfriend) for never taking him anywhere. Together for eons, Talbot is feeling neglected. Go Talbot.
• Where in the world was Alcide? I don't like that we didn't see him the entire episode until the end. But once we do see Alcide, we see a lot of him. I'm not going to complain about that.
• Jessica's continuing to entertain me. Using her bliss to get all the customers to stiff Arlene on tips is genius. And then she got brutal when she drank the blood of the annoying customer. It was creepy and awesome at the same time. Love that Arlene's kind of scared of her too.
  
• We find out more about Jesus. He tells Lafayette he doesn't know his father. In fact his mom was raped and then he was born. So much like Detective Olivia Benson on Law & Order: SVU, Jesus is the product of rape.
• Love this Russell line: "There's a fine line between feisty and delusional and you're in no place to bargain."
• Does Russell realize he killed Eric's family? Or is that just a fact you forget after killing a lot of people?
  
• The Queen likes to scratch and win. Love that she plays the lottery.

First Watch: Rizzoli & Isles by Tina Charles

I'm not someone who likes to be negative so when I don't like a show it's difficult for me. So I'm happy to report I really enjoyed the pilot for TNT's newest crime show Rizzoli & Isles. The two leads know their way around a crime drama. Angie Harmon plays tough Boston detective Jane Rizzoli. Harmon's best known for her three-year run on NBC's Law & Order as ADA Abbie Carmichael. But she has also starred in ABC's Women's Murder Club and let's not forget she cut her investigative teeth as the Hoff's detective partner on Baywatch Nights. Meanwhile, Dawson's Creek alum Sasha Alexander is arguably best known for playing Special Agent Caitlyn "Kate" Todd on the first two seasons of CBS' NCIS. She's the super smart very fashionably dressed medical examiner Maura Isles. All I can think about is the fact that Sasha is "Ducky" on this show. Well, if Ducky were a woman who wears lots of designer clothes and Louboutin shoes. This girl has never heard of Casual Friday.

One of my litmus tests for any new show is the chemistry of the cast. And right away, I'm enjoying the friendship between Rizzoli and Isles. The two are opposites of course: Rizzoli's no frills, one of the guys, and takes the tough cop thing to heart. She definitely seems a little damaged. She has her family around, but as we learn in the pilot she's the target of a serial killer (or two). This guy had gotten the best of her before so she damn well wasn't going to let him get away this time around. Plus, even though Jane's allergic to dogs, she ends up adopting a stray which I guess will serve to help bring out more of her feminine side. We definitely find out much more about Rizzoli in this episode. Hopefully we'll find out more about Isles soon. She's intriguing. Much like Jane, Maura's beautiful and she's smart. Really, really smart. Like reeling inane facts off the top of her head smart. Her inner nerd is offset by her outward model-type looks. She dresses to the nines for every occasion. Like I said, I'm curious to learn more about her background. I mean, she also has a giant tortoise as a pet. Sasha and Angie work well together and I think they'll gel even more as the series continues. Right away Rizzoli and Isles sort of show interest in the same guy (FBI Agent Gabriel Dean), but it's clear Rizzoli is more in need of companionship than the coroner. And Isles helps the flirtation between Jane and the visiting agent progress.

The case is personal for Rizzoli which makes it kind of interesting. What I did love is that for much of the episode the males in her life (her brother, her cop colleagues, even FBI Agent Dean), rally around her and want to protect her from the serial killers who are after her. But in the end, Rizzoli's forced to save herself. I really liked that. At this point, I just really want to learn more about Dr. Maura Isles so hopefully she'll be quickly incorporated into the show even further. This show has the makings of a keeper. I'm going to record the series on my DVR. The cast chemistry has lots of potential, although the dialogue doesn't always seem to snap, crackle and pop. The show tries a little too hard to make the characters quirky but things should settle as the series continues. And I'm curious as to how all the cases are going to play out. But I'm definitely on board for the foreseeable future. It won't be a weekly blog, but if something big happens or I want to highlight one aspect of the show, I'll post a new column.

Cast Notes

Other cast members include: Lorraine Bracco (The Sopranos), Bruce McGill (MacGyver) and Lee Thompson Young (Jett Jackson, Smallville, FlashForward). Marisa Ramirez (General Hospital, Miracles, Mental) plays Harmon's neighbor. I'm unclear as to whether she'll continue in that capacity. Bella's dad on Twilight plays the FBI agent in the first episode and he shares a nice chemistry with Harmon's Rizzoli. I love Billy Burke in the Twilight saga so I hope his character comes back at some point. Michael Massee plays one of the killers. He almost always plays a villain, he's really good at being creepy. Supernatural fans will recognize him as Kubrick, Gordon's partner in crime in both "Bad Day at Black Rock" and "Fresh Blood."

Random Thought

• With the presence of Sasha Alexander, I couldn't help play connect the dots between NCIS and Rizzoli & Isles. All I could think of when Dr. Isles said she had to take a trip to Quantico for a different case and the investigation started involving a military green beret is that maybe NCIS could help out or something. They threw around words/terms like "National Security" and "soldier" and "Chairman of the Armed Services Committee." What was I supposed to think? First episode and I'm already looking for a crossover! Earlier, Jane and Maura were trying to decipher a clue and the jumbled up word ended up spelling out Theodore Bundy. You know who played Ted Bundy in a TV movie, right? NCIS' Mark Harmon. Okay the NCIS comparisons end there.

Ratings Update

Rizzoli & Isles had a huge debut. According to tvbythenumbers.com, R&I became "cable's #1 commercial-supported series launch of all time" reeling in 7.6 million viewers. Congrats, TNT!

Snap Judgment_The Glades by Tina Charles

I'm not having any luck with TV series featuring short, catchy titles this summer. I wanted to continue to satiate my love for vampire shows by getting sucked into ABC's The Gates. Didn't happen. Then I turned my attention to the wannabe gritty police drama on CBS called The Bridge. The jury's still out on that one. Now I've given A&E's The Glades a chance. And all it did is make me long for the days when USA Network's Silk Stalkings was on. If I want to see police officers investigate murders in a pretty Florida town that features the word "Palm" in it, Silk Stalkings (SS) is for me. Chris and Rita made solving crimes in Palm Beach sizzle. Palm Glade is the setting for A&E's newest original series. And where SS provided lots of colorful (do you remember the clothes Lance and Lorenzo wore?) flavor, The Glades is just dull. I only made it seventeen minutes into the pilot before hitting delete. I get the sense A&E is trying for a fun USA Network-type show, but unfortunately, this doesn't cut it. The lead character is Detective Jim Longworth. He's a tough Chicago cop living in Palm Glade after he parted ways with his boss. It seems he accused Jim of sleeping with his wife. He's a loner. He's out of his element. He's constantly sarcastic and doesn't take life seriously. He rather be playing golf than working. I just wish this character wasn't as cliched as he comes off. This is the pilot so immediately Det. Jim has to try and drum up some chemistry with a nurse (played by Lost's Nikki aka Kiele Sanchez). I don't know. Sometimes it takes time for chemistry to percolate but I normally like to see some sort of spark right away, something that lets me know that maybe I'm not feeling them now, but there's potential for a connection down the road. All I'm sensing between the cop and the nurse is a flatline. I'm glad the first episode did really well for A&E in the ratings, but time will tell if this success will continue. If you want fun in your summer shows just tune into TNT's Leverage or USA Network's White Collar.

Snap Judgment_The Bridge by Tina Charles

So I watched CBS' 2-hour pilot for The Bridge, the cop drama about rampant corruption in the Toronto police force and the officer who steps up to fight it. The Bridge tried (too hard) to be gritty TV. I imagine it was going for something like The Wire but it didn't quite succeed. Maybe it was because some of the dialogue was just underwhelming. Maybe it was the fact that at one point I felt like there were so many bad cops I was drowning in corruption. It took me a little bit to understand that the lead character, Officer Frank Leo, was supposed to be charismatic. I just didn't get it at first and I love the actor who plays him (Aaron Douglas, Chief Galen Tyrol, Battlestar Galactica). At first I couldn't believe how his entire division (The Bridge division) would just gravitate towards him and appoint him leader. But by the end, I did get it. He became a solid force for good and Douglas did a good job conveying that.

After a very intense opening to the show, for me the pilot went downhill for the rest of the hour there was so much exposition (a necessary evil of pilots, I know). It was in the second hour that things started to pick up again and Frank found himself in a whole world of trouble. His fighting against the system and corruption made him a target. They went after him and his dad, anything was fair game. But the pilot also started to get exhausting around about Hour 2 because one thing happened after another where bad cops did bad things and good cops did bad things they didn't mean to do. At one point I just wanted some peace and quiet. Plus, so many things happened I don't feel the actors were given enough time to react. One of my favorite parts was the tentative business relationship between Frank and the Chief of Police. They do each other favors but they don't trust each other at all. In fact they both are recording their little get togethers for insurance. I like the potential messiness this new "friendship" will inevitably face in the future.

I admit to liking the flirtation going on between Frank and the prosecutor Abby St. James. She ends up representing Frank (for a $5 retainer, what?). I'm curious as to where this not so subtle flirtation will lead. Ona Grauer plays Abby St. James. For me it's great to see her because she played the very first Crossroads Demon on the CW's Supernatural at the end of Season 2. She and Douglas share a nice chemistry for sure. I don't know how long The Bridge will be on Saturday nights since the ratings for the pilot were much less than stellar. But if I'm home on a Saturday night and The Bridge is on, I may watch live. I don't think I would DVR it.

True Blood: 9 Crimes by Tina Charles

It's been two weeks since we saw the most twisted ending to an episode ever. I still can't believe we were witness not only to Bill cheating on Sookie (I haven't read the books) but in such a crazy way. Bill rotating Lorena's head during their angry sex session – that moment was insane.

First shot we get is of Alcide. Not a bad way to start "9 Crimes." Seriously Joe Manganiello is 9 kinds of hot as werewolf Alcide. Sookie's taking care of his wounds from last episode's bar fight plus she's telling him about how those werewolves he fought were high on V, a fact Alcide finds despicable. While Alcide tells Sookie about his ex-fiance (Debbie) the two share a brief moment of some serious sexual tension. That's when Bill calls and his voice sounds utterly devoid of emotion. He tells her he's leaving Bon Temps and her. Sookie's incredulous. After all, the last time they were together her vampire BF asked her to marry him. Bill completely destroys Sookie telling her about his quality time with Lorena; he tells her she's better off without him and that she's of no concern to him anymore and he doesn't want to be found. Ouch. That's one brutal break up. But good thing she has Alcide there to comfort her. The devastated telepath immediately notices how warm he is which is in direct contrast to Bill. They share another little moment before Alcide decides to put on a shirt. Anna Paquin seems to have chemistry not only with real life fiancé Stephen Moyer but with Manganiello and Alexander Skarsgard as well. Lucky girl.

While Sam tries to track down his thief of a half brother, he finds his biological parents squatting on his property in their van. They've been kicked out of their house and have nowhere to go. He tells his mom how Tommy just tried to steal money from his safe. She's not surprised. He tends to do desperate things when they're in financial trouble. She says they'll leave when Tommy gets back.

Even though Franklin's pretty evil and I hate what he's doing to Tara, I can't help but be mesmerized by him and his beautiful accent. He continues to have Tara under his spell and pumps the unlucky bartender for information on her best friend. She has no choice but to let him know that all Sookie wants in life is quiet because she's a telepath so things tend to get real noisy. Franklin also gets Tara to tell him Sookie's in Jackson, Mississippi. He wants her to find out why. The phone call's a pretty intense moment. We see Franklin feeding Tara what to say but Sookie thankfully doesn't give up her exact location and hangs up. Tara tries to run for the door but isn't fast enough. Franklin stops talking and starts biting.

Now for some Bill and Lorena (Borena could be their un-supercouple name). He has no time for his maker and he lets it show while Lorena remains completely delusional thinking Bill will fall in love with her again. Bill puts a stop to that thought process by belting her one sending her out of his room. An abusive but much needed move on his part.

Eric gets even sexier if that's possible when he hovers outside Sookie's window. She's impressed, I know she is. Who wouldn't be? Eric waits for an invite and Sookie lets him in and the two start to get hot and heavy. Wait a minute, it's a dream. Boo. Eric's the one that's dreaming while he's got a stripper dancing on a pole right in front of him. Interesting...

Sookie being Sookie, she can't take Bill's phone call break-up as set in stone. She decides she's still going to look for him anyway. She's such a stubborn girl and I'm not sure if that's a good quality. Sookie turns to Alcide's sister to help her get ready for the engagement party. Although It's not an engagement after all, it's an initiation into the wolf pack party and Debbie's hooked on V. Sookie's telepathy is a skill that comes in handy time after time. Alcide's sis paints a picture of her brother and his ex. She's glad he got out of that relationship alive.

Bill and the Vampire King have a fireside chat and a cigar. Compton wants something in return for helping him go up against Queen Sophie Anne. He wants Lorena gone. Russell says it's a punishable offense to kill another vampire. "Not if no one reports it." Bill reveals Eric's big secret: that he's been selling vampire blood on the Queen's behest because she's low on cash. Hopefully Russell will off Lorena soon. I'm so not digging that character. Anyway, the gruesome threesome share some time in Russell's limo later.

And as for Eric, the Magister raids his club in search of V. Pam manages to warn the Sheriff before the Magister finds her. Eric quickly shows up and says he's being framed. He and Pam blame a missing Bill and reveals he's been gathering evidence to support this claim. The Magister gives Eric two days to come up with the evidence or Pam (his childe) dies.

Meanwhile, Sookie's extreme badass makeover comes complete with short black wig and tattoos. After she tells Alcide what's up with Debbie, the two head (separately) to the "engagement party" where Alcide tries to talk Debbie out of the branding ceremony and Patrick Swayze's brother Don forces Sookie to down three shots. Coot grabs his girl and takes her up on stage where Russell shows up and supplies the entire bar with his blood. So after Debbie's branded, everybody in attendance (including Alicide) shifts to their werewolf forms. Alcide yells at Sookie to run.

Once Russell gets back to the limo Bill brings him the fresh meat the Vampire King ordered. Lorena, Russell and Bill feed on the poor stripper. Bill's on a dark, dark road here.

Other Stuff That Happens

o Action at Merlotte's: the high school football star that's about to break Jason's passing record is hanging out, playing pool and drinking beer. Hoyt even calls Kitch Maynard the next Jason Stackhouse. Jason feels threatened. In another part of the bar is Bud's retirement party. Bud names Andy the new acting Sheriff. Arlene's frustrated with being the only one working.

o Jessica starts working at Merlotte's and she's an instant hit. She runs into Chip from bible study. He's happy to see her alive. She glamours him into forgetting he ever saw her "alive." Hoyt witnesses her talking to Chip from afar.

o Lafayette gets jumped for his car while trying to sell someone V. Eric saves him.

o Jason uses Egg's murder to try and talk Andy into letting him be a cop on the Bon Temps police force. I really don't like this storyline at all. The fact that he may end up on the force without going through the proper channels is just ridiculous. Like everyone's just going to accept Jason enforcing the law all over town just like that? Weirder things have happened I guess.

o Franklin brings Tara to the Vampire King's mansion.

o Sam bonds with Tommy and tells his parents he'll give them a place to live as long as dad stops drinking and Tommy behaves. Tommy says he can change his ways. I really like Sam and Tommy bonding.

Random Thoughts

o Tara spends much of "9 Crimes" tied up. That girl has no luck whatsoever. She can't catch a break. Bringing her flowers while she's tied up is Franklin's idea of wooing.

o I love Lafayette's loving his new car.

o Coot licking Debbie's brand in his wolf form is just creepy.

o Congratulations on True Blood's nomination for Outstanding Drama Series. How awesome is that?

Favorite Line

"Well I guess the only way to get a promotion in this town is to drink like a fish, hallucinate farm animals and kill a black man. Hey, promotion!"

Top Chef D.C.: Capitol Grill by Tina Charles

It's been a week (for viewers) since Angelo's sabotage and not surprisingly, he's not seeing it as a sabotage at all. In fact, he's upset at Kenny for not standing by the team during judges' table. What? Plus, I'm still completely disappointed with the way Kenny folded during the elimination challenge. He should have taken the word "challenge" to heart and stood up for the fact their team didn't actually have any vegetables of substance in their school lunch. It's a good thing Kenny gets a letter from his girlfriend. He's been feeling like a second fiddle so maybe he'll use this letter as a wake up call.

Quickfire Challenge

Gail Simmons and famed pastry chef Johnny Iuzzini (well not "famed" to me. This is the first I've heard of him). We're about to hear a lot more of this James Beard Award winner since he's the head judge of Bravo's upcoming Top Chef: Just Desserts. And if you haven't heard yet, Gail's the host. This is yet another plug for the upcoming series. Is this going to be happening all season long? I hope not.

The Challenge: It's a dessert quickfire challenge where the cheftestants have 2 hours to make a pie from scratch. Those are the only rules of this particular game. The winner will get immunity in the elimination challenge.

• Angelo says he's never made pie before
• Alex decides to make tapioca pie. What is he thinking?
• Ed incorporates some sort of celery and peanut-y thing with his banana cream pie. What? Dude likes to over-think his dishes.
• Angelo helps out Tracey. I do like that Angelo is nice when it comes to her.
• As for Tracey, she's forced to scratch her first almond blueberry pie and attempt a second.

Out of all the pies, I totally have my eye on Kenny's take on bananas foster and Kelly's spiced raspberry and dark chocolate ganache tart. And I'm completely in fear of Alex's white chocolate, tapioca and chevre pie with almond crust and raspberry puree as well as Tracey's blueberry almond crunch pie with light cream and almond brittle.

• The judges (especially Gail) aren't taking much crap this season. Amanda (apple pie with rosemary and bourbon with a hazelnut crust) tries to make the excuse that she's not a pastry chef but Johnny's not having it. I think Amanda is just trying to fish for a compliment. I'm not sure about her at all.
• Gail seems turned off by Stephen's curried apple-date pie with saffron. There a sour taste she's not digging
• Gail also goes after Ed's banana cream pie with salted peanuts and celery spuma. Her comment doesn't reach the level of last week's sherry/vodka sarcasm, but I'll take it.
• Johnny and Alex have this awesome exchange (Johnny's tough by the way I already feel sorry for the Just Desserts competitors):

Johnny: "Is there egg in here?"
Alex: "There is."
Johnny: "So it's more like a quiche."

It looks like a quiche to me. Real men admit to making quiche, Alex. Not surprisingly, the least favorite dishes come from Alex, Tracey and Ed. The most successful desserts come from both Kelly and Stephen and the winner of this challenge, Kenny. I'm happy for Stephen because before this he didn't seem like he could put together a tasty concoction. But I'm really happy for Kenny even though his general cockiness since the beginning of this season makes me sad. At least he's been able to finally rise above his second fiddle status.

Elimination Challenge

This season takes place in Washington D.C. so just about every elimination challenge will feature some sort of patriotic or political take. Last week they cooked school lunches for a worthy cause First Lady Michelle Obama champions. This week the cheftestants are, according to Padma, celebrating another American tradition: the summer picnic. Very appropriate considering we're heading into the July 4th weekend.

The Challenge: Prepare a cookout for 150 Capitol Hill interns that includes one main dish and two sides. And guess what? No dessert necessary. Rejoice! And they'll be cooking said meal on the grounds of George Washington's Mt. Vernon Estate and Garden. Pretty cool. Everyone gets their own grills which stereotypically pleases the men and makes the women fearful. Not really. Well, just a little.

The Shopping: Amanda reveals some really personal information which we hear while she's running through Whole Foods looking frazzled and practically mowing down the people in front of her. She tells us that in her mid-20s she had a problem with cocaine and pills and anything that she could get her hands on. But the fact that she fought back and survived all that means she can do anything. As soon as I hear that I do a double take and then rewind to make sure she just told us about her past drug problem. I don't know why I was incredulous I guess I just didn't expect the mother of all TMI confessions to happen while the chefs were frantically grabbing their ingredients for the elimination challenge. Wow. I don't know why but suddenly I'm liking Amanda a little better.

The 3-hour Prep: The quirky personality portion of the program continues when Tracey starts talking to herself incessantly during prep. It's kind of disturbing and oddly fascinating at the same time. Alex and Amanda start fighting for the ovens. Amanda insists she labeled an oven and Alex stole it from her. It's unclear whether there are other empty ovens available, but Amanda calls Prison Rules: Label the oven, it's yours. Ed seems to have a lot going on with his dish again while Arnold seems like he's one of those chefs that no longer spends a lot of the time in the kitchen. He finds it difficult to do all the sous-chef responsibilities himself. Stephen says the issues that can arise with his seafood dish is if the fish dries out or the bacon doesn't get crispy. That's all?

The Event: Arnold has no grilling experience so he just spies on Kenny and does what he does. Very smart. Right now I feel like Tim's all talk and no follow through. I hope he can make a good meal but I'm not completely confident he will. Top Chef Master finalist and the Obi Wan Kenobi of the kitchen Jonathan Waxman is handling judging duties along with Tom, Gail and Padma. He's also a grilling expert so this challenge is perfect for him. The Dishes:

• Arnold: Sesame lamb meatballs with Tabouli salad and gazpacho (Me: I want some; Judges: they're impressed)
• Tamesha: Marinated skirt steak wtih caramel soy glaze and fennel citrus salad (Judges: the steak is overcooked)
• Angelo: Vietnamese lettuce wrap and smoked egg salad (Me: it's a pretty dish but there doesn't seem to be much there. Judges: they're impressed. Jonathan calls it a magazine cover dish.)
• Alex: Grilled pork butt with lemongrass, polenta and cucumber salad (Me: I'm not digging Alex's lame attempts at humor. I won't even repeat his ass butt joke. Judges: The pork is beautifully cooked but the sauce is too sweet.)
• Tim: Pork 2-ways [dry loin and wet baby back ribs] and grilled vegetables. Right when Tim's talking about the veggies, a bird dumps a substantial gift (Judges: Pork is OK, the vegetables and beans aren't OK.)
• Amanda: Dry rub baby back ribs, grilled asparagus, bacon hazelnut vinaigrette (Judges: They like Amanda's ribs more than Tim's ribs. And Jonathan is in love with her grilled asparagus)
• Kelly: bison burger, watermelon and tomato salad (Judges: the burger's bland, the dish is super simple)
• Kevin: Puerto Rican-inspired grilled marinated flank steak, rice and beans and tomato & avocado salad (Judges: the beans are overcooked and the rice is bland)
• Lynne: leg of lamb with ras el hanout, zucchini "spaghetti" with balsamic onions (Judges: her lamb feels heavy)
• Kenny: harissa-marinated pork loin, quinoa-grilled eggplant (Judges: well-cooked meal)
• Tracey: Italian sausage slider, tomato, cucumber & red onion salad (Judges: too much fennel; slider a tad undercooked and too big to be considered a slider)
• Tiffany: Tamarind glazed wild sockeye salmon, Israeli couscous (Judges: fish is bland and glaze inexplicably has no flavor)
• Andrea: spicy root beer-glazed skirt steak and potato salad (Judges: root beer glaze too sweet)
• Stephen: bacon-wrapped sea bass, ratatouille and olive pine nut couscous (Judges: not impressed at all; Tom's especially not a fan of the fish)
• Ed: spiced tuna loin with lentil hummus (Judges: his food is picnic friendly and there's a lot of flavor)

Judges' Table

The most successful dishes come from a trio of "A's": Arnold, Amanda and Angelo as well as Ed. The judges praised all meals although they did say Amanda's salad didn't need to be there. Arnold wins his first challenge. I'm all for someone who's not Kenny or Angelo taking the win. Very cool. The least successful dishes are: Tim, Stephen, Tracey and Kevin. Tim is told his veggies just weren't good. Padma calls Kevin's Puerto Rican dish the "safest Puerto Rican food I've ever had." Kevin begs to differ. He says all the Puerto Rican people he's familiar with (including his wife), that's the food that they would do. Sassy Gail tells it like it is:

Gail: "Are they chefs?"
Kevin: "No."
Gail: "Exactly. You are. So show us great Puerto Rican food that a professional chef would make. Step it up."

I agree. It's crazy that his rice and beans were bland. I'm pretty well versed in all things rice and beans. My mom cooks them and every time there's flavor. There's no excuse for making it bland. The judges were particularly brutal with the resident psychic and chef Tracey. She tells them she's not surprised to be there. Tom's insulted she calls her dish Italian food. Jonathan says she stopped trying instead of figuring out how to fix it. They were also brutal with Stephen's food. Jonathan calls the Ohio chefs fish "really seriously inedible." Tom thinks his greasy couscous was even worse. He thinks Stephen lacks confidence.

The deliberation: After the bottom 4 leaves the room, the brutal comments don't stop. Jonathan continues to have a lot to say. I love that Jonathan's so vocal in this episode. He again uses the word "inedible," this time to describe Tim's grilled zucchini. And as for Tracey, the Obi Wan feels his 10-year-old son could have made that patty. He cannot believe a professional chef made that slider. While Kevin's meat was grilled nicely, his food really was a watered down version of the real thing. He didn't do anything to elevate it. Meanwhile, Tim had watery beans and wilted greens. Two-thirds of his meal reached epic fail status. The person told to "pack their knives and go" is Tracey.

For me, this could have very easily been a double elimination. The things said about Stephen's food were just as bad as Tracey's. However Stephen did do well in the quickfire this week. Tracey fared poorly on all counts so I'm okay with her leaving although I really did learn to enjoy her presence. Anyway, Top Chef D.C. is saving the double elimination for the next episode which is cool with me because I still think there are too many chefs around. Feel free to work a triple elimination into things, Top Chef!

Snap Judgment_The Gates by Tina Charles

Interesting thing about ABC's The Gates. I liked the first episode enough that I looked forward to the second. And as I watched the second, I began to like it less and less. I made it about 15 minutes into "What Lies Beneath" and then I deleted it off my DVR. I'm actually really upset about my decision, but the episode was just not grabbing me like the pilot did. I found myself not caring about getting to know the characters. I'm seriously bummed because I love me some vampire TV shows. I watched Buffy, Angel and I'm currently into the CW's The Vampire Diaries and HBO's summer TV hit True Blood. I had no qualms about adding a third vampire show to my TV watching repertoire. Unfortunately, that won't be happening. Plus, I really, really want Frank Grillo (Prison Break, Guiding Light) to get his hit TV show. He deserves one. He's hot and he's talented. And he played Hart on CBS' late great soap Guiding Light back in the day. After The Gates finishes its run I sincerely hope Grillo finds a TV show that he can really sink his teeth into because this one is just not that show it pains me to say.

Snap Judgment_Hot in Cleveland by Tina Charles

This isn't so much a snap judgment since I decided to watch two episodes before making my mind up about the TV Land sitcom. Here's the thing. It could use a lot more laughs. I laughed a few times during the series premiere but in the second episode I probably laughed once. Having said that, there's something really comforting about a show that features stars we've enjoyed in shows from years past. I like all the actresses involved: the greatness that is Betty White (The Golden Girls, Mary Tyler Moore); Valerie Bertinelli (One Day at a Time, Jenny Craig), Jane Leeves (Frasier) and Wendie Malick (Just Shoot Me). Too bad they don't have better material but at this point I don't know if I really care since this sitcom sort of takes me back to the sitcoms from the 70s, 80s and 90s. And that retro feel starts at the very beginning with the "this show was recorded in front of a live studio audience" voiceover. The whole premise is contrived and the writing is stilted but I do hope the dialogue and jokes improve as the series goes along. Bonus points for the John Schneider guest star appearance in the premiere, however. It's always good to see him. Hot in Cleveland isn't so much hot as it is lukewarm but I think TV Land is wise to air this show during the summer when it doesn't have as many sitcom competitors (sitcom-petitors?).

Royal Pains Extra

TVGuide.com has an article about the fourth episode of the second season of the awesomely addictive USA Network series Royal Pains. It's a tad spoilerriffic but a good read thanks to an interview with RP star Mark Feuerstein. The episode titled "Medusa" airs Thursday night June 24th @ 10pm Eastern.

Top Chef D.C.: Outside the Lunchbox by Tina Charles

So far the show's main story is Kenny versus Angelo. It's shaping up to be a good rivalry. Will this storyline continue? At the beginning of the hour, we see the cheftestants at the house. Talk covers John leaving and Angelo winning both challenges in the first episode. Cut to the Top Chef kitchen where the contestants enter and Padma greets everyone. At her side is one of the guys that feeds President Obama and his family, Sam Kass. He's the assistant White House Chef and Food Initiative Coordinator. He's also rockin' the bald head very well.

Quickfire Challenge: Make a Biparti-SANdwich

-Teams of 2 (attached at the hip) have to make a sandwich in 30 minutes

-Each chef can only use one hand

I kind of like the play on Bipartisan. Probably because I love puns, I'm not going to lie. Cheesy puns definitely rule. The Quickfire mission is for teammates to create a sandwich in 30 minutes. The knives will determine the 8 pairs. I'm not the biggest fan of pairing up or team challenges. Nobody on reality shows like to work together. Not on Top Chef, Project Runway or even on American Idol. Padma announces the winning team of this challenge will get immunity. Although I still feel like Padma has something up her sleeve.

First of all, Angelo says it'll be extremely embarrassing to lose the sandwich challenge because he has a sandwich shop in New York City. You know what that means don't you? That means he's going to lose the sandwich challenge. Almost no one ever wins in their specialty. Here's the twist (we knew there was going to be one): they'll be competing in bipartisan aprons (one side red, one side blue) and the chefs will only be able to use one hand. They're about to get real close. Right away I can tell Angelo got a bum deal, he's forced to work with Tracey Bloom. I like Sam. He suggests everyone leave their egos at the door, forget about taking credit and just get to work. I may have developed a quick crush on Sam Kass.

The pairs and their sandwiches:

• Kenny & Ed (Korean chili-rubbed tuna) - Ed's left-handed and Kenny's right-handed; this pairing could work. Sam liked the spice of their sandwich.

• Angelo & Tracey (flounder marinated in fish sauce) - Tracey reveals she has a secret crush on Angelo. However, I don't see love in their future. I see conflict. But they seem to do okay. In fact Angelo refers to Tracey as his twin sister. Cute. Sam says their sandwich is tasty.

• Tamesha & Amanda (grilled sandwich w/ prosciutto & swiss cheese) – One word: awkward.

• Timothy & Alex (Croque Madame) – They instantly have knife issues. I don't blame anyone. They haven't played the trust game yet. They don't know their teammates at all. I don't know if I would let anyone get near my hand with a big freakin' knife.

• Stephen & Jacqueline (chicken and avocado) – I'm immediately worried about these two. They didn't fare too well in the first episode.

• Arnold & Kelly (curry-rubbed grilled chicken breast) – They work real well right away. I'm impressed.

• Tiffany & Lynne (flatbread saltimbocca) – Sam says it's hard to eat. Lynne admits it's more of a knife-and-fork sandwich. Who wants a knife-and-fork sandwich?

• Andrea & Kevin (Philly Cuban) – I didn't really get an impression of this team before Sam judges their dish. Sam likes the pickle in the sandwich.

I don't know how the chefs get it all done. That seems like a difficult challenge. Sam thinks the chefs just got a taste of how hard it is to work in a cooperative way.

The bottom: Stephen & Jacqueline (not creative); Lynne & Tiffany (not great texture)

The top: Tracey & Angelo (Angelo, again? Although so far I'm not minding him in this episode); Kenny & Ed (Sam raved about the sandwich)

The winners: Tracey & Angelo

That's three challenges in a row for Angelo. Is that a first for Top Chef? If not, how many times has this feat been achieved? Is anyone keeping track? Well this win doesn't bother me as much although I would really love Kenny to get one of these wins. Tracey and Angelo now have immunity. They can coast.

Elimination Challenge: Cook a School Lunch

-Use the same restrictive budget the public schools have: $2.68 / child. That's $134.00 for all 50 kids

-Sam takes four of those dollars away for labor and supplies so the chefs have a budget of $130.00

-Lunches consist of a main course, a couple side dishes (a vegetable), some fruit and dessert.

-Must be delicious and healthy

-Teams of 4 (every person on team is responsible for 1 item on the menu)

-They only have 30 minutes to plan and 2 ½ hours to prep and cook; 1 hour to heat up the food at the school

The elimination challenge focuses on "Let's Move," Michelle Obama's campaign to end childhood obesity. The cheftestants will have to cook a school lunch that's delicious and on a budget. Angelo and Tracey get to pick the team they want to cook with and they choose Kenny and Ed.

The teams:

Team 1: Angelo, Tracey, Kenny & Ed (going the healthy burger road)

Team 2: Amanda, Tamesha, Jacqueline, Stephen (chicken thighs)

Team 3: Alex, Tim, Kevin, Andrea (Mac & Cheese; Kevin offers to do dessert)

Team 4: Tiffany, Lynne, Kelly, Arnold (they're thinking roasted carnitas tacos)

Did Jacqueline say she's doing dessert? Did she not learn from John? Amanda sure did. She knows well enough to stay away from the sweet stuff. Then we learn a little more about Jacqueline's life. When she was in high school her parents went through a nasty divorce and she had to be the mom to her younger sister. Learning about these people's lives isn't really that great a sign. It's usually a sign that that person's going home.

I love the shopping portion of the episode. The teams go way over their 130 dollar budget. It's really sad when you think that's what schools go through everyday however.

The Cooking

Team 3: Andrea's telling Tracey what she's making. And she's all "It's my idea." Which it is her idea but there's no need to be so obnoxious about it.

Team 1: Kenny's making the dessert, the apple-bread pudding. I don't understand why he's relegated to dessert when Angelo and Tracey have immunity. Let one of them handle dessert. Angelo's being very smart here. Kenny's not feeling like his team's dishes are as healthy as they should be.

Team 2: Amanda's feeling stressed. Jacqueline feels her dessert's too starchy so she adds sugar. More sugar! What?

Team 4: Kelly's acting like the leader when there were no leaders designated.

Downtime

• Tracey talks to Kelly about how this challenge hits close to home. She's been raising her girlfriend's daughter and she admits they go out for fast food at least once a week. It really seems to affect her. I'm liking Tracey more this episode. See? I said in the last blog I am able to change my mind. I'm still not sure about Angelo though. One thing I can say about him is that he's smart.

• Arnold and the rest of Team 4 let Kelly know she's taking too much credit. I don't really know what purpose this serves. Oh I get it. Arnold's trying to validate what he did for the team because all his cooking amounts to is some salsa. He's trying to enact some sort of preemptive strike. How very legislative of him…

The Event

Prep time: Kelly says she wants to end Angelo's winning streak. The valve to Team 1's foam gun is broken. Angelo asks another team for some help they refuse. It is a competition and they're sick of Angelo winning. So I understand why they say no. I just like it when there's good sportsmanship. Tom Colicchio arrives. He thinks Kevin's fruit with yogurt foam is a good idea. Tom's mom ran a lunch school program for 20 years so this challenge is very close to his heart. Tom goes to Team 4 and Arnold decides to be spokesperson probably because he's the most insecure about his contribution. He lets Tom know they've all worked on everything. Tom's not buying that for a second. That's why the rules say everyone needs to take responsibility for a dish. Amanda puts sherry wine in her dish. Let's see how that flies with the judges.

Serving the Judges

Team 3

The Menu: Picnic Coleslaw with yogurt; grilled apple cider bbq chicken (skinless); mac & cheese with whole wheat crust, skim milk & low-fat cheese; fresh melon kebab & orange Chantilly dipped in yogurt

The Judges: good comments for the cole slaw, chicken and dessert; the weak link is Tim's mac & cheese

Team 1

The Menu: Chicken Burger with Fiesta Rice; Peanut Butter & Celery crudités, tuile; Sweet Potato Purée with cinnamon; Apple Bread Pudding with Cinnamon Yogurt

The Judges: They're not overly enthusiastic about the meal. They have nothing bad to say about Kenny's bread pudding but the judges want to know where the vegetables are

Team 4

The Menu: Black Bean Cake & Crispy sweet potatoes; Braised Pork Carnitas Tacos with Pickled Onions & Cilantro; Roasted Corn Salad with Cilantro with Lime Vinaigrette & Chili Oil; Carmelized Sweet Potatoes & Sherbert

The Judges: Gail loves all the color on the plate; They love the taco and the salad; Lynne's bean cake is a little spicy; They like the dessert too.

Team 2

The Menu: Braised Chicken Thigh in Sherry Jus; Sweet Onion Rice with Tomato, Carrots & Green Onions; Bean & Tomato Salad, Pickled Red Onions & Apple Cider Vinaigrette; Banana Pudding with Skim Milk & Strawberries

The Judges: Not into the "sherry jus" aspect of the dish for kids; they like Tamesha's salad but Sam and Tom definitely feel something went wrong with Jacqueline's dessert; Stephen's rice is good but mushy

Jacqueline's feeling good about her dessert. She says it sold out.

Judges' Table

Kevin snores in the stew room. I wonder how long it is before Padma makes her entrance. She wants to see Teams 1 and 3 first which is odd since the judges didn't have all that many great things to say about their food. The losers get the awesome dramatic entrance edit and music this time around. When Padma tells the teams they had the worst menus of the day you can tell the cheftestants are kind of shocked since they were called to face the judges first.

Jacqueline explains her dessert. Sam's on to her asking if she had to add a lot of sugar, which she did. Sam rocks. He wonders how Amanda had the budget to buy sherry when Jacqueline couldn't buy chocolate..

Ed is told his dish was pretty spicy. He needed to be careful since he was cooking for kids. Sam calls Team 1 on their lack of vegetables. Kenny says they realized that and that's why they roasted the tomato on the burger. Sam makes it known that tomato's a fruit. Embarrassing moment for Kenny there. The attention turns to Angelo. Tom wants to know if he would have handled peanut butter and celery if he didn't have immunity. Angelo says he can't answer that. He's unbelievable. Tom says he doesn't want to draw the conclusion that Angelo sabotaged the team because he doesn't think the New York chef is that kind of guy. (Although I think he is that guy) This may be my favorite judges' table session ever because everybody's turning on everybody else. Team 2 decides to point out the lack of nutritional value in Team 1's dishes so Kenny has to fight back. So awesome! And I'm getting excited for Top Chef: Just Desserts because Gail's on a roll. She goes after Amanda's use of sherry once again:

Gail: "Why did you choose to use sherry?"

Amanda: "Because for me I really like chicken braised with sherry normally I like it with mushrooms…"

Gail: "I like it too. There's a lot of things I like. I love vodka. Not cooking with it!"

Gail gets the gold star for this week's Top Chef. The losing teams go back to the stew room and tell the other two teams that they are the groups with the best dishes. Kenny and Stephen are talking about how that even though two team members are immune, their dishes still count for something. How did they not know this? Cut to Angelo whistling like he's innocent when all it does is make him look super guilty. He's smart but I don't like the way this all went down. However, Kenny just rolled over and let it happen.

The judges feel Angelo's team had the worst meal. They would have sent Angelo home had he not had immunity. Although Angelo wouldn’t have made peanut butter and celery had he not been immune. The devil. They do blame Kenny for not being more proactive in getting vegetables on those plates. Cut to Angelo telling Tracey he doesn't like Kenny. He totally threw the challenge. Angelo's officially on the villain list. The judges hate Amanda's sherry braised chicken. Jacqueline's dessert is deemed too sweet thanks to gobs of sugar. Then they actually get around to talking about the winning teams. Gail digs the tacos. They had vegetables and fruit. The two teams found innovative ways to make their meals healthy and delicious.

Padma asks to see Lynne, Tiffany, Kelly and Arnold. They are the most successful team of this elimination challenge and Kelly's named the winner. Nobody has to justify their contributions, which is cool because we had some major drama with the losing teams. Kelly announces the judges want to see Amanda, Jacqueline, Kenny and Ed. Jacqueline is forced to pack her knives and go. She wishes she had fought for more than 10 percent of the budget. Two chefs in a row took a risk by making a dessert and have gone home. When will they learn?