Top Chef looks to see who will be the cooking captain,TAR's Express Pass play and Skye's secret mission on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D

Once again,there was no Quickfire Challenge on Top Chef this week as Emeril and guest judge Eddie Huang paid an early morning visit to announce that the theme for the Elimination round was Vietnamese food.

Apparently,this particular Asian cuisine is very popular in New Orleans,especially since shrimp is a major menu item which goes hand in hand with the local fishing community.

Teams were formed to make full course meals and shrimp had to be in at least one dish. The chefs were then given a tour of Vietnamese eateries,including a bakery and a fishery loaded to the gills with,of course, shrimp.

Some teams felt more advantaged than others,due to some of their members having prior experience with Asian food in general, with a couple of folks having more direct connections to Vietnam like Travis,who visited the country with his boyfriend. At one point, Travis earned the nickname "Captain Vietnam" due to his constant insistence that he knew best in all food related decisions here. That didn't work out as well as he wanted it to.

For one,his Green team wasn't up for the win. That honor went to Team Red,who seemed to be the only group that completely nailed the challenge.

The dish that won outright belonged to Shirley,who was smart enough to ask the fisher wives how they cooked shrimp and the butter mixed with Creole spice livened up her barbecue shrimp nicely.

 Travis's team,on the other hand,crashed and burned mostly due to his advice. The dish that he made, a pork sausage lettuce wrap with a side of pineapple shrimp paste sauce, suffered from a lack of lemongrass.

 That ingredient is a key essential in Vietnamese cooking but it was "lost in translation",according to Travis, during the shopping trip they made beforehand. Basically, it was taken in and out of the grocery cart by mistake and no one realized it until it was prep time.

 The guest judge even joked about it during a pre-presentation inspection with him but in an aside, Travis displayed his lack of a sense of humor and some nasty nit-picking observations about that judge's ethnic background in regards to his expertise on the food. Not cool,dude,so not cool!

The person who had to pack their knives and go, however, was Janine for serving twice fried shrimp that wasn't saved by the ginger tomato sauce covering it.

Bene made that sauce,particularly because Travis swore up and down that it was authentic Vietnamese style but Judge Tom wasn't buying that-he compared it to trying to claim McDonalds as French food just because you ate at one in Paris. He did have a point there.

Regardless of that, the shrimp was a a complete mess and Janine had to head off to Last Chance Kitchen,where with any luck she'll get another chance to re-enter the competition. Too bad Travis didn't join her but if his attitude keeps getting worse, he might be there sooner than expected.

Speaking of bad attitudes, Tim and Marie's(mainly Marie) strategy on The Amazing Race thus far has been to demand favors in exchange for the possibility of being awarded their extra Express Pass.

It wouldn't be so bad if Marie's notion of "being nice to everyone" didn't involve her ordering people around like children and acting like a playground bully when things don't go her way. One of the Detour tasks on this leg in Norway was to stack up fish heads in bundles and take them outside to dry on wooden racks. She and Tim were supposed to use a rack marked with a Race flag but didn't, which delayed them considerably.

Marie kept on getting agitated and even barked at one team,a pair of buddies I call the Beard Boys(they wouldn't look out of place on Duck Dynasty), to tell her what went wrong since she had the EP. Those guys didn't take her guff and rightly so:

Eventually,the genius queen figured it out,making her and Tim fall a bit behind there. As they struggled to find their next stop, Nicole and Travis(who would have originally won the EPs,if not for a simple mistake) ran into them.

Marie hit them up for help but Nicole insisted that the extra Express Pass be handed over first. Since this leg is one of the extended ones, we''ll find out this weekend if she did give to Nicole but to me, it's perfectly fair to want to get paid up front first in this game. Marie, if you're going to play hardball, someone is bound to call you on it.

 It's been obvious for some time now on Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D that Skye has a hidden agenda for being on the team and this week, her plans were flushed into the open during their latest mission.

While the team tracked the Rising Tide member who leaked info about a man with fire powers to the same evil scientist types involved in creating Centipede serum, Skye found a way to hook up with him before they did.

 Turns out, he's her somewhat current boyfriend who talks a good game about freedom of information but is willing to cash in on his tech skills with no questions asked:

Skye wasn't happy with her man about his eagerness to sell out but that didn't change the fact that what trust she had managed to build up with the group was shattered.

Coulson had no choice but to ask Skye to put her cards on the table. Her mission happens to be a personal one; she's looking for information about her long lost parents and the main clue is a redacted S.H.I.E.L.D. document. 

That earned her a slight reprieve but it'll be some time before Skye has free reign at the computers,not to mention any friendship points with her S.O. Grant,who was starting to warm up to her. With the next episode not arriving until Nov. 5(gotta store up those fresh shows for the sweeps!), we have plenty of time to develop theories about Skye's mom and dad.

My best guess is that they were freelancers who were hired by S.H.I.E.L.D for a mission that went horribly awry. We shall see soon enough, I'm sure:

RANDOM NOTES:

DRACULA:  Just in time for Halloween, the newest take on the classic bloodsucker arrives with Jonathan Rhys-Meyers in tow as it's lethal leading man. Hopefully, this series will offer more than a pretty face and flashy sets to the horror icon's image:

Thanks to Madonna,here's another look at misbehaving at the movies

One of the classic debates that film goers have had time and time again has nothing to do with favoring a certain actor,director or genre and everything to do with movie house manners.

Recently, Madonna attended a screening of 12 Years a Slave at the New York Film Festival where she spent most of her time texting away. When one of her fellow attendees asked her to stop(since the tapping noise and light from her Blackberry was distracting), her charming reply was "This is for business,enslaver!" Yes, she said that,folks at that particular movie.

As a result of that, the theater chain Alamo Drafthouse publicly declared that she would not be welcome at any of their theaters,which has a strict "no text,no talking" rule,until she apologizes. Given the lady's ego, that apology is never coming(plus, I feel that she owes me my money back for sitting through the likes of Shanghai Surprise and Evita). This whole kerfuffle made me think that it was the proper time to go over a few common complaints and/or solutions to the rude movie patron problem.

1) Loud is not always welcome:

Some films are enhanced by vocal audience participation,such as an action flick, a comedy or a decently scary film. Others,however, are best enjoyed with a reasonable amount of silence. Some might object to the volume of popcorn crunching or drink slurping ,particularly during key scenes of a movie but in my opinion,popcorn is sacrosanct for any  screening.

Loud talk and behavior stands out the most when watching highly dramatic material that all but demands complete concentration and for someone who treats a serious movie in the same way as a two steps away from a direct to video release,the full wrath of the audience is richly deserved:

2) Sometimes, it's better to switch seats:

While confronting a noisy movie goer should be a simple matter, it may at times be best to not directly tangle with that person. He or she may take your polite suggestion as a challenge to fight or defiantly turn up the volume on their antics.

Calling an usher or getting the manager ought to be a court of last resort. A safer move,if possible, is to change seats and hope that someone else will take the initiative. With any luck, you won't run into that person again,especially if they find less than funny films to be downright hilarious:

3) Get yourself settled before the movie starts:

 If you or the person you're going to the movie with is particular about where to sit or how to locate the "acoustic sweet spot" in order to enjoy the show properly, arrive early enough so that you can get all set up before the feature presentation begins. If you can, try to have all of your ducks in a theater row by the time the trailers start to roll and please don't be pushy about things:

4) If you can't handle a horror movie, don't go:

This sounds very specific but it can be applied to other types of films that provoke immediate reactions such as sadness, anger or disgust(any Jackass movie comes to mind for all three). Horror movies do have a drawing power for the squeamish amongst us and while covering your eyes is fine,freaking out is not.

You knew what you were getting into(or should have,based on poster art alone. Horror movie posters are never subtle,people) when you bought your ticket,so either bail out or sit tight,just as long you don't ruin the movie for those who wanted to see it:

There are more points we could go over but I think we can all agree that a) Madonna is too white a shade of pale to call anyone an enslaver,b) that if you really have business to attend to, you shouldn't be at the movies in the first place and c) texting during a movie is just plain wrong. A movie theater should be a cinematic oasis of art and entertainment away from the everyday world, not an extension of it.

Perhaps in time, people will regain the art of movie house manners and these discussions will no longer be necessary.  In the mean while, refraining from texting at the movies would be a good start. The only fighting at the movies should be onscreen, not off:

A look at the sinister siblings of Stephen King's Carrie

As the fresh new remake of Carrie unrolls at theaters this weekend, I thought it would be interesting to check out some of the other psychic teens of terror that the book and original 1976 film had inadvertently spawned over the years.

While Stephen King didn't write a sequel to his first acclaimed horror novel(for obvious reasons), that didn't stop Hollywood from making one in 1999,not to mention a TV remake and Broadway musical. However, those direct connections to Carrie are not our fearful focal points for this discussion.

 This is more about the "inspired by" cinematic characters that popped up in either horror or fantasy films from time to time like Vivian (played by Little House on the Prairie star Melissa Sue Anderson) in the 1981 made for television movie Midnight Offerings.

TV movies jumped on the Carrie bandwagon after Hollywood had temporarily abandoned due to the limited success of The Fury in 1978. Carrie type of girls showed up in Friday or Saturday Night small screen films and were often turned into witches, despite the fact that Carrie's abilities were more X-Men than Charmed.

While The Initiation of Sarah (which had a college bound pair of sisters,one of whom had TK powers) was remade recently by ABC Family, no one so far has attempted a new Midnight Offerings which would and could be remade easily with suitable time period adjustments. The main story is about two girls,Vivian who is shamelessly evil with her power and Robin,who doesn't mean to rub Vivian the wrong way and is reluctant to use her magic against anyone.

What does give a solid link to Carrie in this film is the twisted relationship between Vivian and her mother Diane,with the daughter scornful of mom's giving up magic in order to have a regular life. It's a reversal of the one Carrie and her mother Margaret had with the one big difference being that Diane actually cared about the well being of her kid. However,like Margaret White, she was powerless to stop her from unleashing the worst within her little girl:

Psychic teens returned to the big screen in due course,with one of the largest horror movie franchises bringing one on board in 1988.

 Friday the 13th,Part Seven:The New Blood(quite a mouthful of a title there!) might as well been called "Jason vs. Carrie" as the major new twist to the well worn out slasher series was having a troubled girl with TK along for the ride.

The girl in question,Tina(Lar Park Lincoln), was carrying around an extra load of guilt from accidentally killing her dad as a kid via her special ability. Unlike Carrie,Tina managed to mend that particular fence with her father but sadly, wasn't able to save her mom from a grisly end at the hands of Jason and a certain weaselly psychiatrist there.

 This was a movie that I fondly remember seeing on it's opening weekend and having the dubious honor of being the only one in the audience actively rooting for Tina to take down Jason(plus a couple of other characters who were particularly horrible). Even today, fans of the Friday the 13th films hold this entry in high regard:

Psychic teens aren't only found in the horror genre. While they have appeared as both heroes and villains in comic book sagas such as the previously mentioned X-Men, last year's found footage flick Chronicle gave us Andrew who was more of a down to earth version of Carrie.

Like her, he was an outcast amongst his peers, with an abusive parent to deal with, and the physically weakest of the trio of young men that stumbled upon a strange glowing rock that gives them all extraordinary abilities.

Andrew gained more confidence from his new powers as time went on but the continued bulling at school and home caused him to slowly yet surely consider the real damage he was now all too capable of doing,much to his own bitter end:

Reviews for the 2013 Carrie remake have been mixed thus far and it's early in the box office race to predict just how profitable the movie will be. It does have a considerable advantage of not having a lot of competition out in this genre right now,plus the whole Halloween thing.

While the original is somewhat dated,the story has remarkable staying power in it's themes of bullying and family abuse which are more on the mainstream radar these days. The fiery finale at the prom,however, is a nightmare that has become a very real fear for high school students much more so than back in the 1970s.

One of the real strengths of Carrie is that it's leading lady is a sympathetic portrayal of a young person who desperately needs a hand up to escape the downward spiral of their life,only to be slapped down yet again and driven to take revenge anyway she can. Hopefully this new version of this frighteningly familiar fable,as well as future imitators, will be able to grasp that all important element to making their pop culture potion just as potent as the first one was and still is:

Top Chef serves culinary royalty,a new perspective for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and a new series hopes to Reign supreme

We did get a knife pull on Top Chef this week,as the Quickfire Challenge had the contenders draw blades to choose which overdone food trend they would have to make an improved version of.

Dana Cowin of Food & Wine magazine was the guest judge for this round and her picks for least favorite trends were smoked,egg on top,kale and bacon(most of them I understand but hard for me to hate on bacon). The stakes were high here,as not only immunity was up for grabs but one of the chefs was to be sent home as well. Shirley earned her win by making a comfort food dish, rice congee with shirred egg that wowed both Dana and Padma equally.

Sent home here was Aaron,for the saltiness of his fried kale. I've never had kale(and probably won't anytime in the near future) but this did appear to be a shriveled mess on the plate.

For a moment there, it looked as if Bret was going to be out,as he made a lackluster kale salad and Dana specifically said to the folks who drew kale not to make a salad or chips,the typical go-to for that veggie! However, the food gods spared him for the moment.

For the Elimination Challenge,the chefs were taken out to dinner at The Commander's Palace, a legendary New Orleans restaurant to taste four of their renown menu items to recreate for the judges the following day.

Teams were formed by what table everyone was at but each person was responsible for his/her own version of the dish. With both Emeril(who made one of the entrees during his time at Commander's) and iconic chef Paul Pruhomme attending the Elimination meal, nerves were more on edge than usual,which sadly showed up in the food.

Most of the courses had problems,with only the dessert round being the one that everyone agreed was the best. Two of the chefs in the winner's circle were from that category,with the strawberries three ways earning a win for Justin.

The entree course that suffered the most was Emeril's veal chop ,which was either over or under cooked by that group. Bret's plate,however, was a real sloppy mess so he was handed his dismissal papers for now.

Since Last Chance Kitchen is set to start up again on Oct.26(which you can view online), Bret and Aaron will have another opportunity to get themselves back in the game,so good luck, guys!

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D introduced us to a former protege of Coulson's, Akela, who was presumed dead for three years after a failed mission crashed and burned.

 Turns out she was captured by an unknown enemy and forced into their service,due to a hidden camera implanted in her eye(must be a big writers' trope this season, as Criminal Minds had a similar plot point in last night's episode).

 The camera eye allowed her to see through solid objects,which came in pretty handy as she was sent out to commit robberies. Even an elaborate plan to prevent her from seizing a fortune in diamonds was no match for the combination of combat skills and high tech advantage from the unwanted implant that Akela possessed:

Coulson naturally was all for giving her a second chance but Melinda May was of a different mind set altogether. After a showdown between the ladies that lead to freeing Akela from the control of her captors(whose ultimate goal is still uncertain), a bit of respect and trust was formed there.

I have a feeling that Akala might show up again, as her question to Melinda about the change in Agent Coulson caused Ms. Cavalry to raise a few hackles of concern. After all, Akela would be a credible source to consider when wondering about the truth behind his "magical" recovery and if Coulson is what he seems to be.

Also, it would be cool to see the both of them team up to kick some serious bad guy ass. The only regret I have about their scenes is that they didn't get to throw down long enough:

Making it's debut tonight is Reign, a new CW series about Mary,Queen of Scots which starts off with her engagement to the heir to the throne of France in 1557.

 Yes, it will no doubt be wildly historically inaccurate and it does have modern music on the soundtrack not to mention a young version of Nostradamus (who was a rather old man by this point in time) yet I intend to give it a try all the same.

Why? Well, I am a sucker for historical fiction and with the Starz miniseries The White Queen ending this weekend, this should be a fun way to replace that less than guilty pleasure. Granted,any Philippa Gregory novel is more thoroughly vetted that what is going to be presented here,a medieval Gossip Girl at best, but why not give this costume drama a chance?

It would be nice to have something like this on a regular network instead of cable for once and maybe Reign will actually encourage the younger generation to look up the real facts or at least get interested in finding some good historical fiction to read. Never hurts to hope!:

RANDOM NOTES:

CHOPPED: Their Halloween episode has already aired but I'm sure it will be repeated in time to whet some wicked trick or treat appetites. Meanwhile, you can check out what the judges did with one of those spooky mystery baskets here:

Who will be next in the Austen Project author line-up?

With great buzz surrounding the arrival of Joanna Trollope's Sense & Sensibility,the first title to be released in The Austen Project series, news of yet another well known author signed on to give their particular modern day twist to a work of Jane Austen's increased the fan fervor considerably.

In addition to Val McDermid's Northanger Abbey and Curtis Sittenfeld taking on Pride & Prejudice, Alexander McCall Smith will be bringing us Emma by next autumn. He is a most excellent choice,given the charming play on cultural manners that appears in his various mystery series such as The Number One Ladies' Detective Agency and his Isobel Dalhousie books.

Since Emma does have an element in mystery within it,concerning Jane Fairfax's love life,McCall Smith should have a lot of fun with that.

Also,he enjoys bringing together characters in somewhat small town style of settings(even if they are connected with larger cities more directly than this particular Austen heroine was),so his version of Highbury promises to be most engaging.

 Furthermore,McCall Smith has a deft hand in weaving in moral dilemmas  with the prevailing plot line without being preachy or sugar coating the situations,something that anyone tackling Emma must be ready to deal with:

Now that we have at least four writers on board, many are wondering who will be called upon for the two remaining Austen titles; Mansfield Park and Persuasion.  There are a good number of great writers who would do justice to these books and if I was the one to do the asking, my choice for Mansfield Park would be Nick Hornby.

"Doesn't he write boy lit?" Some might ask but that is a subjective opinion and in any case, does not automatically exclude anyone from Jane Austen,in my opinion,not to mention that in MP,insights into the male characters are a prevalent  part of the book.

What makes me think of Hornby first is his knack for creating outsiders that linger on the social sidelines such as in About A Boy,with the awkwardly shy and eccentric Marcus managing to bring self centered Will out of his emotional comfort zone. Certainly he could be counted on to give mild mannered Fanny Price a fair shot at outshining the viciously vivacious Mary Crawford.

 Also, Hornby's insights into the odd twists and turns of family life would also serve well in bringing the Bertrams to vivid modern day life and I bet he'd have a ball with Aunt Norris there.

 Plus, his pop culture sensibilities could be very useful in making the whole Lover's Vows portion of the story more relevant to our times. In short, I think it would be a great literary gift to see what Nick Hornby would do with Mansfield Park:

Now,for Persuasion,which is my personal favorite,I would like to nominate Jennifer Weiner. I know that most of the authors tapped for this project have been British or Scottish but one of them so far is American and bringing another Yank on deck to round things out sounds proper to me.

Weiner's best books involve family dynamics from In Her Shoes to Then Came You,with plenty of things left unsaid and at times,too much talked about which would be engaging for anyone tapping into the multiple dramas of the Elliot family,both close and extended.

 Her quick wit should make short work of the snobbery of Sir Walter and his darling daughter Elizabeth,not to mention the needy for attention Mary Musgrove. Most important of all, she has a knack for creating notable heroines who harbor self doubt about their worth and find much needed assurance of their value amongst true friends and lovers. There is no doubt in my mind that the woman who gave us Cannie Shapiro and Rose Feller would be a marvelous choice to reintroduce Anne Elliot to the world:

 I am sure that whoever will take up the mantle for these classic novels will do a wonderful job,as the previous selections have proven to be.  As to Alexander McCall Smith's Emma, it will be a book eagerly awaited and a choice that certainly Miss Woodhouse herself would approve:

Top Chef builds up appetites,Sleepy Hollow's sister act and American Horror Story enters the Coven

No sooner had the contenders on Top Chef completed their first Elimination Challenge before they were tasked to begin their first Quickfire of the season.

 They had to make a gumbo that reflected their background and since that dish takes a good long while to stew to achieve the right flavors, their start time was that night,with fifteen minutes at the TV kitchen to finish up the next morning.

The gumbo offerings were judged by renowned local legend Leah Chase,who gave her honest yet polite opinions about the food. Contestant Jason seemed particularly miffed when she didn't like his version of gumbo(the beets would have been better if he had made it into a borscht) but the lady speaks from knowledge there.

The winner of this challenge was Carrie,who really made an unusual gumbo combo.

 She blended her Iowan roots with those of her Trinidadian husband and created a coconut with green mango brew with a corn crumble that not only earned her immunity but high praise from Leah Chase(who compared it to a dish she makes on Holy Thursdays). Nice going,Carrie!

Then  New Orleans chef Susan Spicer arrived to announce the next Elimination Challenge,which was to form food truck teams that would serve lunch to Habitat for Humanity volunteers.

Padma broke up the chefs into groups,depriving us of a now traditional TC knife pull(which we'll be getting at some point,I'm sure) and for the most part,the chefs got along to make great food for these folks who are still rebuilding the city after Katrina.

Out of the four food truck packs,Team Yellow was deemed the best and sent to the winner's circle

. A good reason for that was the tilapia tacos whipped up by Aaron and Carlos that had a chipolte aoli with cabbage. The judges also enjoyed the shrimp ceviche that Carlos put out as well.

The overall win,however,went to Carrie. She turned out a great pie crust for the empanadas filled with beef and pork curry from Aaron that really helped make that dish retain it's freshness.

Making a fresh pie crust on a food truck is no easy task yet Carrie committed herself fully to it,even using a chilled wine bottle as a makeshift rolling pin. Nice streak you're on,Carrie,keep it up!

Team Blue wound up on the Bottom,with a number of dishes that could've gone right yet were all so wrong. Bret made a coconut ceviche with scallops and red snapper chips that were so hot,Judge Gail had a hard time picking it up to eat.

The temperature of the fish threw off the chill that the ceviche was supposed to have,which made it stick out like a sore thumb in comparison to similar servings from other teams.

The one who went home(or at least off to Last Chance Kitchen) was Jason,who had pre-wrapped his salmon rolls in order to spend most of his time at the front of the truck to deal with customers.

 Most of the people who brought his sloppy mess of a meal(the quinoa and honey mustard miso turned off the judges) were ladies that he batted his eyes at,which was his plan since the theme of the food truck was "surf" and he has surfer boy looks.

Yeah,well, this competition is more about taste that sight,my man,and you found that out the hard way. He was flexing a really arrogant attitude,so I'm glad to see him go for now. Hopefully,next week,we won't find him in LCK as a winner.

This week's episode of Sleepy Hollow was particularly strong story wise,thanks to Abbie's sister Jennifer making some active plays in this long game.

 Upon breaking out of the mental hospital she was in,Jenny went in search of a mystical item,also sought by an ancient order of Hessian warriors,that would unleash a large number of demons on earth.

With the Mills sisters having to work together,this twosome formed a very formidable trio with Ichabod that not only saved the day but began to mend a few fences for the ladies as well. I also like having a secret Hessian society on board as a possibly permanent set of villains and even with the main focus being on Ichabod and Abbie,here's hoping that Jenny will become a major player as time goes on:

American Horror Story:Coven debuted last night and it definitely was not shy about the horror. The centerpiece of the plot is in New Orleans where a "boarding school" for young witches is in session as newcomer Zoe(Tassia Farmiga) meets her new classmates including bitchy movie star Madison(Emma Roberts).

In between the power struggles amongst the girls as well as the headmistress Cordelia and her "Supreme" mother Fiona, an old tale of the terrors dealt to the innocent by Delphine LaLaurie(which were avenged by Marie Laveau) comes to brutal life and threatens to affect the fate of the fading line of witches in the modern world.

 I have to say that there wasn't a dull moment to be had and I'm not the only one who sees a few X-Men connections being drawn(with a lot more blood and sexual politics). The merging of the past and present promises to be a nifty display of feminine struggles and racial matters which could be tricky to juxtaposition there but so far,so good.

 The diva power alone is beyond ten,with Jessica Lange,Kathy Bates and Angela Bassett on deck and the powers of the new generation of witches ,such as Madison with her Carrie like abilities and Queenie who can bring pain to others by doing it to herself,are pretty impressive. Definitely turning in for the rest of this run and eager to see what will happen next,something that doesn't happen with every show out there:

RANDOM NOTES:

MARVEL'S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D: This week,the big mission was to rescue a kidnapped scientist and from the looks of his ultimate fate,this was the introduction of a new Big Bad for the next Avengers movie. We shall see,in a couple of summers there!:

Small screen witches casting a spell on you this TV season

Trend watchers in the horror/supernatural genre are busily on the alert for what mythological creature will hit big in the mass market arena next; or in other words "When is the vampire thing over with?"

Well,first off,vampires are far from over but secondly,if I had to lay my bets on what will be in fright night fashion this season,witches are definitely on the rise. Particularly on TV these days,we're getting a lot of ladies trying their hand at magic making,mostly as secondary characters but some are taking the lead here.

Vampires and witches have locked horns on shows such as True Blood and The Vampire Diaries(plus TVD's spin-off The Originals) but some have been allies for the good guys and not just adversaries. The new series Sleepy Hollow,for example, has Ichabod Crane's wife Katrina (Katia Winter) as a secret witch who set the spell in motion that brought her husband into the 21st century.

She also sends him warnings of approaching danger in his dreams as she is trapped in a limbo realm and it's not quite certain if she's alive or dead. I suspect that once Ichabod finds a way to release her from the mystical prison she's in,Katrina might be able to reunite with her man in the here and now. Since the show has already been approved for a second season(it'll be a limited run,much like Under The Dome was), Katrina may get a real chance to strut her witchy stuff:

Debuting this past weekend on Lifetime, Witches of East End stars Julia Ormond as Joanna Beauchamp,the matriarch of a magic practicing family.

She is determined to guide her daughters Ingrid and Freya( Rachel Boston and Jenna Dewen-Tatum)towards their path of mystical destiny but there are some supernatural speed bumps along the way,one of which is her sister Wendy(Madchen Amick). The show seems a bit soap opera glossy but the casting choices are pretty good,plus having been based on a series of novels by Melissa de la Cruz should give WOEE a strong story spine to hold the subplots together with:

The big game changer of the bunch,however,will most likely be the new season of American Horror Story,called "Coven". AHS regulars Jessica Lange and Sarah Poulson return as a mother-daughter act who run a boarding school for witches in modern day New Orleans,with new students (Emma Roberts,Gabourey Sidibe) of varying levels of power.

Flashbacks to the past will showcase a battle between Salem witches,headed up by Kathy Bates as Delphine LaLaurie,who used her spells to torment slaves,and vodun practitioners lead by legendary New Orleans voodoo queen Marie Laveau(Angela Bassett).

Given the drawing power of this series and the amazing cast assembled here,AHS:C appears to have all the ingredients for a powerfully potent brew of TV magic:

Big screen witches may come along again(in hopeful better depictions than Oz the Great and Powerful) but for now, their TV sisters will be able to fill those pointy shoes nicely. With Halloween only a few weeks away,witch watching feels very much in style but we should not restrict such viewings to autumn alone. The right set of spell casting gals can be enchanting at any time:

Top Chef gets down in New Orleans,The Amazing Race is up and away and a furious surprise on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D

Top Chef got off to a roaring for it's new season in New Orleans,as the fresh batch of chefs weren't even given a Quickfire Challenge to warm up. Padma and Judge Tom announced the first Elimination round with the tossing of Mardi Gras necklaces that had animal shaped beads,which told each person what protein they would have to work with.

Since the general theme was "New Orleans style", the meats in question were alligator,turtle and frog(all of which is supposed to taste like chicken but I have my doubts about that).

They had to prepare a dinner party for a group known as the Dinner Lab down by The Swamp(more on that in a minute) and since two of the contenders (Michael and Justin)had won their spots by competing on Padma's Picks online, they had immunity right out of the gate.

Everyone had two hours in the TC kitchen for prep and then granted another two hours when they arrived at their serving location. Turns out that "The Swamp" was not a restaurant but an actual clear spot by a real swamp with tables and cooking stations that had to be assembled by hand!

Fortunately,things were up and running by the time the Dinner Lab and the judges(with Curtis Stone from Top Chef Masters,plus Emeril) arrived to eat.

The top three chefs for this challenge were chosen by the number of Mardi Gras necklaces the diners gave them and Sara's deep fried alligator earned a place there.

 She was worried that the spicy kick from the smoked chilis added to the dish would turn people off(Padma's taste buds were stunned by it) but the folks from the Dinner Lab apparently appreciated the extra heat.

Joining her was Carrie,who served her poached frog's legs with a cold zucchini salad and oyster emulsion.

All of the elements were in harmony on the plate,which pleased the judges greatly. However,the victory was not her's to take.

That honor went to Nina, for her turtle meatballs with a raisin chutney and chayote slaw. Her seasoning was spot on and I have to say that I would try something like turtle if it was made into such a familiar favorite.

Usually,the chef who wins the first Elimination Challenge has a strong shot at becoming the next Top Chef champion,so congrats and good luck,Nina!

In the Bottom Three was Patricia for not being able to roll with the quick changes at their cooking locale. She wound up switching from a roulaude to sauteed gator with a yucca puree,due to not having a regular oven available.

Her dish,which she herself described as "pounded out meat" literally fell flat,particularly in flavor. Since Patricia happens to be a home chef, the judges did give her a break on this one.

Aaron made turtle two ways,one with a ragout with pasta and the other a comfit. However, it was his pasta that got him in trouble as he did it home made style which wound up mushy on the plate.

Not a bad idea but it didn't work out well enough,so Aaron landed in the Bottom this time out. Hopefully for him,it may be his last time there.

Ramon was the one asked to pack his knives and go,due to making the major mistake of cooling down his Thai dashi with ice.

  The flavors of the braised turtle were washed out by this technique and the look on Judge Tom's face when he learned of the ice treatment was priceless. He was as shocked as a swimsuit designer would be if she was presented with a bikini made out of candle wax;yeah you can do that,but why would you?

It's too early to discern which of the remaining chefs are going to do well or poorly(other than Nina) but hopefully this will be a fun season with plenty of Cajun flavor.

The Amazing Race got off to a quick start by heading out to Chile,where their first Roadblock was to have one member of the team go para glide while the other followed them along to meet their partner at the landing site.

The second Roadblock had one person go off in a row boat to collect five fish from three out of the many boats in harbor and more than one team didn't read the clue properly. The person doing the row boat fish gathering was supposed to be the same one who para glided,which caused a couple of mix-ups:

A big motivation for winning this first leg of the race was the prize of two Express Passes(used to bypass challenges for one leg only). One was for the team to keep and the second to be given to another team before the fifth leg.

Nicole and Travis did arrive at the Pit Stop first,but had to take a thirty minute penalty since they took a cab instead of walking,as the clue instructed. They were able to come in second( the love/ hate duo of Tim and Marie,who I already dislike,won first place) but come on,guys,read your clues carefully!:

Yes,it was great to have Nick Fury make an end credit appearance on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D this week but even he mentioned the real concern for this team,mystery gal Skye. So far, she seems eager to be of use but how much help she can be is yet to be determined.

True,Skye had a few bright ideas when the plane was seized by Peruvian soldiers lead by a very friendly former ally of Coulson's who wanted to make off with that "object of unknown origin" found in an ancient temple. That reading of the safety pamphlet actually came in handy there!

However,judging by that text message she received at the end of her first mission(the second for Fitzsimmons,btw and how cool was Melinda May?) suggest that she's a plant by the real Rising Tide and might prove to be a serious thorn in S.H.I.E.L.D's side as time goes on:

RANDOM NOTES:

MASTERS OF SEX: Now that I have Showtime,I'm giving this new series about Masters and Johnson a chance and the premiere episode was interesting to say the least. The drama here is not presented as sleazy as one might think,altho this trailer is definitely not safe for work,so you have been warned: