Lady Sif drops in on Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, The Odd Couple's new groove and testing some Cutthroat Kitchen sabotages

We get a return of a very special guest star this week on Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., as Lady Sif reappears on earth. Her visit ties in with Skye's new set of super sonic skills as she hunts down a Kree warrior in search of the "abominations" that were triggered by a certain trip to an underground city.

Sif's quest is confused at first, due to an bout of memory loss caused by fighting that Kree fellow(his truncheon can mind wipe folks) but she does know that there is a job to do. Unfortunately, bitch slapping people who get in her way is a rather nasty side effect of Sif's temporary condition:

When Sif joins up with Coulson's crew and they track down the Kree, it turns out that the guy is sort of on their side. Skye,Raina and many of the other Inhumans out there are a result of ancient experiments meant to create warriors as weapons in an ongoing war.

Once the better natured faction of the Kree empire took over, these experiments stopped but with this new awakening, they could easily start up again, something that no one wants to happen. Naturally, Skye is freaked out as the game plan seems to be "kill all the Inhumans" and her brand new power spills forth. I hope that the S.H.I.E.L.D. folk take a page from Fitz and realize that treating Skye like a menace is not the way to handle this.

At least May and Coulson are willing to help her learn to control her seismic abilities and not give in to panic "murder/death/kill" mob mentality. There are plenty more Inhumans out there who could be a threat due to less than proper guidance and having one of them on your side is a smart move:

With so many show right now either on a mini-break, finished up for the season or about to return, there's prime opportunity to check out something new on your channel guide.

So far, I've seen three episodes of the newest version of The Odd Couple and I have to say that it's not bad. The show is more good than great but the cast does click together nicely and there is fun and some funnies to be had here:

When it comes to who's best in their main role, Thomas Lennon in his Felix mode is heads and shoulders above Matthew Perry as Oscar. Don't get me wrong, Perry is definitely in his comfort zone yet not phoning it but Lennon is perfectly suited to this part like a hand made glove and it shows.

 His scenes with just him and Perry are the ones most enjoyable in each episode and well worth waiting for. Granted, it does help that they have a strong lead-in with The Big Bang Theory but I do think that this Odd Couple could get along very nicely on their own at some point. It'll just take some time to get there:

One of the wicked pleasures of watching Cutthroat Kitchen is wondering what horrible sabotages will be visited upon the competing chefs.

 They range from having to cook in a child size kitchen to key ingredients replaced with lesser quality versions , unusual prep stations and bizarre items to use for cooking.

You may think that these culinary traps are near impossible to perform yet all of them are tested before being introduced to a fresh batch of chefs and have passed miserable muster. Let's look at a few of them in the early evil stages and see how well they work out:

POTATO CHIP GNOCCHI: This is a classic Italian potato and pasta dish, with one of the awful options being having to use crumbled up potato chips for the filling. Quite a challenge yet not completely undoable(or unappetizing):

LIFE IS NOT A BOX OF CHOCOLATES: Making molten lava cake is tricky enough as it is, without being made to create the batter in a plastic molded chocolate box container. Messy to be sure and getting the right consistency is crucial but as this test chef finds out, can result in a truly tasty cake:

CUPCAKE IN HAND: Okay, this one sounds completely sadistic as having nothing but your own cupped hand to mix cupcake batter in is sweet torture to say the least. This test chef had to have more than one try to get this bad boy right:

SHOPPING CART SIZZLE: Building your own work station/cooking source is a popular sabotage and having to turn a shopping cart into a makeshift enchilada maker is a tough one. Yet, the metal framework was more help than hindrance:

Yep, Cutthroat Kitchen is a tougher cakewalk than Chopped to take but I don't value one over the other based on that. Nighttime culinary shows need that extra bit of flair to gather an audience, plus pass along a little cooking info in the bargain. Bring it on, Alton, bring it on!:

RANDOM NOTES:

iZombie: Not sure what to make of this upcoming series debuting next week. Zombies are not my go-to monster(not to mention being pretty tapped out at this point in the horror genre) yet this show does have three interesting factors going for it-a smart female lead, a new twist on the typical living dead deal as our leading lady uses her need for brains to solve crimes and Rob "Veronica Mars" Thomas is behind the wheel here.

Plus, it is based upon a DC Comics series(via Vertigo) and the CW has been having a nice run of luck with those adaptations lately. So, I may give it a try but no promises, folks. Keep your fingers crossed and your skulls secure for this one: