The TAR winners,Nip/Tuck finale and Top Chef's Mamma Mia Meltdown

We're down to eight contestants on Top Chef and things are still heating up. This week,the big challenge was to prepare refreshments for a Hollywood holiday cocktail party and once again,there was a drawing of the knives to divide folks into two teams,Black and Orange. Team Orange busted out over a dozen different dishes and even had Marcel and Betty working together without fighting,miracle of miracles.

Team Black only made about five varieties of canapes,going for the "quality over quantity" idea which would've worked if the flow of food to the table was kept at a good pace. When the judges went over,there were empty trays and delays in getting some of the stuff out due to Elia deciding to freshly prepare certain items on the spot. Not a bad way to do things but quick refills are important when you're offering up goods to the public or a large crowd.





When Team Black went up on the chopping block,it looked bad for Elia,who was the team leader but things got even worse between Cliff(who had immunity)and Mia,who does own a catering company but felt that many of her ideas and her experience was not being recognized. Cliff blamed his team's probelms on Mia's"bitching and moaning" and she went off on him bigtime,using many words that Bravo didn't bleep out very well. I don't blame her-Cliff did shoot down alot of her suggestions and even tho Elia was team leader,he really took over the planning of the menu.

In the end,Mia offered herself up to be eliminated to spare Elia from taking the hit. Judge Tom's blog had this to say about her leaving:

"I guess Mia looked around at the other chefs and realized that it was unlikely she was going to be the ultimate winner. Not that she lacked the heart or hard work. But she was seeing people like Sam and Ilan and Elia, who have had the benefit of training and the tutelage of notable chefs, cooking at a level of sophistication and skill that eluded her. Mia felt herself out of her league and truly believed, but for tonight’s error in judgment, Elia had a shot at going all the way. So she volunteered to go home so that Elia could stay."

He does give her credit for selflessness and admires her fighting spirit but I really think he underestimated her. To Mia,it was about honor and leaving the competition on her own terms,not feeling "out of her league"! Yes,she was homesick for her family(which was a factor,IMO)but she respected Elia's talents and wanted her to have a shot at making it big in the culinary world. Mia has a good business that she built up while Elia is still making a name for herself. Elia's not a strong leader but she is a good chef who doesn't go out of her way to undermine her fellow competitors which is why Mia was willing to throw herself under the bus.

Also,Judge Tom didn't believe that Mia stood up for herself during menu planning-not true! She damn well did and explained later that she decided to move ahead with the challenge at hand by giving in so that the team could get things moving along. That's what a professional does,OK? Oh,and that whole"benefit of training" crap? Did Marcel benefit from any of his training by trying to snatch credit away from Sam who won the challenge as team leader? Hey,Marcel,if you're on the winning team and not in danger of being kicked off,SHUT UP! Way to work with others,dude.



In other reality show news,Tyler and James were the winners of the tenth season of The Amazing Race,beating out Rob & Kimberly and Team Alabama. One of the best parts about the finale was that the Beauty Queens had been knocked out of the running.Told you ladies that karma don't like catty! While it's nice that Tyler and James won,I was rooting for Lyn & Karlyn;they both have young children and really could've gotten alot out of the million dollars. Oh well,atleast everyone seemed to have a good life experience. Tip to Rob & Kimberly: it's great that you both still want to get married even tho you lost but invest in some couples therapy. Constant arguing may be sexy but it doesn't hold together a marriage for long.

The Nip/Tuck season finale cleared up alot of things-I was wondering all thru the shows why so many characters from Season 1 were popping up and now I know why. Ryan Murphy and co. were cleaning house so that Sean & Christian could ditch Miami and set up shop in sunny California. That's a good idea-a fresh location could open up an entire new realm of screwedupness for plot fodder. Plus,Christian Troy surrounded by eager young starlets and desparate Beverly Hills housewives-cue the Barry White music,if you please!

Speaking of music,the singalong section of the show is now on YouTube and as promised,here it is,folks:



I know many people are saying it's a ripoff of Magnolia but a)some of us didn't see that movie or care to and b)PTA doesn't own a patent on lip synch montages there. Goodbye to Michelle(finally!)and Escobar,who turned out to not be as badass as his wife(hope she makes another appearance next year). Hello to Danny Strong,who I hope will be a part of next season. It's good to see him on another show(they only give him limited appearances on Gilmore Girls)and hate to say this but he looked like a hobbit next to Julian McMahon. Great season all around and to celebrate,here are some clips of the best of Nip/Tuck this year:

Dawn Budge's Ear Jacking



Kimber meets Xenu



Sean's Bad Santa




Christian Troy's YouTube debut(warning,very very sexy)



Random Notes:

The Year Without a Santa Claus: With so many of our favorite shows in reruns this time of year,holiday themed movies are sometimes your only fresh and new viewing choice. Someone at NBC decided that remaking the Rankin/Bass animated special in a live action version with John Goodman channeling Dan Connor as Santa,Delta Burke as Mrs. Claus with raccoon eyes and Chris Kattan as a scheming elf would be a great idea for a primetime movie.

I won't even get into the Heatmiser/Snowmiser musical showdown with Harvey Fierstein and Michael McKean being backed up by Las Vegas showgirls or the lame Christmas movie jokes(do give them points for having Carol Kane give her smackdown Scrooged persona to Mother Nature). This was a Christmas stocking chockfull of coal and best forgotten as soon as possible. NBC should just shove this flick into the basement with the other awful gifts given by well meaning but tasteless relatives and throw away the key.

Smallville:Last week's immigrantion storyline was as subtle as a Mack truck plowing into the offices of the Daily Planet. Yes,there are metaphors for immgrant struggles in the Superman mythos but it would've worked much better if there wasn't such paint by the numbers plotting here. It wasn't a total loss-we got a really cool Lex Luthor pimpwalk at the end:



Also got a taste of what's to come in January-looks like Clark's joining the Justice League,yeah boy! This should be fun: