The Top Chef winner,Top Design and more American Idol auditions

The big Top Chef showdown began with Ilan and Marcel having to select two former contestants as sous chefs to help them make the five course dinner that would determine the winner. Marcel picked Sam and Mike(a big mistake in hindsight)while Ilan went with Betty and Elia(what a shocker). Ilan's menu was made up of spanish dishes(again,what a shocker!)while Marcel gambled on a special vinaigrette drop held together by sugar to wow the crowd.

Unfortunately,Marcel's vinaigrette ball didn't bounce and along with a few other mishaps in the kitchen,got some points shaved off of him. On the other hand,he did impress a good number of the guests,inclduing his idol Wylie Defrense,with alot of the meal. One of the big probelms was that the fish for the third course was not brought to the restaurant where Marcel's dinner was being served and not discovered until it was too late. Sam did step up and help Marcel put together a decent substitute that was even considered better than the original concept. I really wish Mia had been picked instead of Mike;she damn well would've remembered the fish!



All of this lead to Ilan being the winner. As you can see,this made Elia and Betty very happy indeed. Elia also got another chance to slam Marcel when she and Betty were questioned by the judges after the meal,with Elia insisting that Ilan"has to win" based on taste alone. The judges got her to admit that she didn't sample anything from Marcel's menu and therefore,couldn't really make that claim. Elia then went on to say that Marcel wasn't capable of running a kitchen(like she was any better at it!). I swear,Elia acted more like Ilan's girlfriend than his cooking buddy,in my opinion.

Oh,well-atleast it's all over. Marcel may not have won but he doesn't have to worry about running into TC season one winner Harold in a dark alley. Seems a certain person called Harold a"boring motherfucker" during one of the "Dirty Dishes" on air spots played during the premiere of Top Design. Smooth move,Ilan! Marcel my man,this note's for you:







Top Design started off with a Project Runway like challenge:to design an "inner sanctum" for a mystery celebrity guest judge(Alexis Arquette)based on five objects from that person's home. The winners of this challenge were Goil and Elizabeth,who seemed to work well together to create a very imaginative room. Alexis even tried out the swing(I thought the chalkboard wall was pretty cool). Too bad that the competive bitchery hit the ground running with John and Michael. Michael had the nerve to say"I'm a designer,I don't know about painting." Are you kidding me? That's like a nurse saying"I don't know about giving shots."



Two contestants were sent home and first to depart were Heather and Lisa. While I totally dug the chinese wedding bed,it wound up overwhelming the room rather than enhancing it. Todd Oldham comes across as a pretty nice host and it looks like I have a new show to watch. Hopefully,this will clense my palate after that sorry season of Top Chef.

American Idol continue their round of auditions,stopping in Birmingham,where they meet a lady who lived up to her name more than her supposed age:



Olivia Newton-John joined the judges in LA,where this young woman not only got on her knees but dragged her mom in to help make her case:



One of the better auditions came from Chris Sligh,who has an interesting goal in life and can actually sing. He does justice to one of my favorite songs"Kiss From A Rose". Give him a listen:



Random Notes:

Heroes: Not only do we get George Takei as Hiro's dad,Nip/Tuck fans will recognize Clare's birth mom as Jessalyn Gilsig aka Gina(Wilbur's mother who coined the charming endearment of "asshole" for Christian). Turns out that Clare's mother is a firestarter,perhaps even a twisted firestarter:




Glad to see Peter team up with Claude;someone needs to help him deal with his powers,unlike his big brother Nathan"Mr. I Am In Denial" there! I really dislike Nathan,you just know he'd rather see Peter locked away somewhere so that his precious political career isn't threatened. Also, how foolish was it of Mr. Bennet to readily accept that Sylar was dead? Hello,Helen Keller could tell that he was faking it! So insanely not smart there.

Smallville: Last week's episode where the Martian Manhunter helped Clark escape the mind games of a Phantom Zone bodysnatcher was well written and hope we see more of the man from Mars soon. Tonight,the show revvs up some early Valentine's Day drama as Lois gets the love bug and zaps Clark with it,thanks to a Red K lipstick lined kiss. This trailer comes with a "director's cut" clip that I hope makes it into the final cut. How can Clark resist a gal with a strong appreciation for Whitesnake?