TOP CHEF: The Quickfire Cookbook Giveaway

A must have for all TOP CHEF fans (or anyone who likes to think of themselves as a Top Chef), GiveMeMyRemote.com is giving away 5 copies of the brand new “Top Chef: The Quickfire Cookbook”.

Drawing from all 5 seasons of the show, Top Chef: The Quickfire Cookbook features 75 of the best recipes-from Spike’s pizza alla Greek to Stephanie’s bittersweet Chocolate Cake-culled from the Top Chef Quickfire Challenges. Everything the home chef needs to assemble an impressive meal and channel the energy of the Quickfire kitchen is collected here, including advice on hosting a Quickfire Cocktail Party and staging Quickfire Challenges at home. Best of all, this book is spilling over with sidebar material, including tips for home chefs, interview with contestants, fabulous photos, and fun trivia related to the chefs, dishes and ingredients that make Top Chef a favorite.

How to Enter:
We are going to do this a little differently this time around. There will be a few different ways to enter.  Please read the entry requirements carefully as only those who comply fully will be eligible to win.

UPDATE: Congrats to Kyle (FB) and @mayaclemintine @stoodle @jlwarren from Twitter our winners!

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Check out Lady Gaga on GOSSIP GIRL!

You can’t escape her. She’s everywhere. She’s one of the biggest pop stars on the scene today and she has a huge following. And that’s just what The CW and GOSSIP GIRL producers are counting on. Yes, Lady Gaga will be performing on next Monday’s episode of GOSSIP GIRL.

Get a sneak peek of GaGa on GOSSIP GIRL.

More on Monday’s episode after the break.
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“Assignment: Jennifer” – A Must See for All PROJECT RUNWAY Fans

Fans of PROJECT RUNWAY and its offshoot, MODELS OF THE RUNWAY, I have a special treat for you today! My friend Jennifer Eolin, who just happens to be my favorite PROJECT RUNWAY blogger, launched the first episode of her new web series, Assignment: Jennifer, this week and it’s more fun than a drunken Tim Gunn in flip flops.

Watch as Jennifer and her trusty hoodie go toe-to-toe with a familiar face that she may or may not have been so kind to on her infamous RUNWAY blog.

Make it work, Jennifer!

Assignment: Jennifer! Episode 1: Project Runway (Hi-Res) from Jennifer Eolin on Vimeo.

How fun was that?! I couldn’t be more excited. And I can’t wait to see what’s up next.

Stay tuned to GMMR and Jennifer’s site, The New Old Biddy, for the next episode of Assignment: Jennifer coming soon!  And spoiler alert…I hear a few more familiar faces make an appearance.

SMALLVILLE: Idol

Lois is finally onto Clark, or maybe not! But before I jump into the highlights of last night’s episode with the Wonder twins, entitled Idol, I have a bunch of news regarding Smallville you may not have heard yet!

First up, Geoff Johns, who I interviewed last year (Thanks to Kath!) has written a two episode Justice Society of American movie that will air on the CW on January 29th! The movie will center on Clark and feature the likes of superheroes Stargirl, Hawkman, and Dr. Fate!

Second, we finally heard a little bit on why are own super human hero Chloe hasn’t received much screen time this season. Executive producer Brian Peterson of the series has divulged to EW that Chloe’s storyline will be coming into focus in the second half of season 9. Although she is busy keeping Clark on track and running the watchtower, Ms. Sullivan is currently in the midst of creating what will be the “fledgling group that will eventually become the Justice League!”

And last, Tom Welling is moving forward with his new project. Welling, with producers Kevin Murphy and A.J. Marcantonio, is working on the movie adaption of Cheer: Inside the Secret World of College Cheerleaders.

Now on to the latest episode! Finally the light switches on and Lois is starting to question if she in fact knows the real Clark Kent. After turning to a shrink for help with her dreams, she begins to examine just how much she knows about Smallville. I have to say Lois does take her euphony regarding CK’s alter ego quite well. Instead of disappearing or interrogating him like a source for her latest piece, she accepts that he has a big decision and lets him move at his own pace. Not normally how we’ve seen Lois in the past.

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THE VAMPIRE DIARIES: History Repeating

So much happened last night on The Vampire Diaries that I almost don’t know where to start, but as when you find out you are dating a vampire, it all may be a little overwhelming but you’re already committed so you might as well just dive in head first, right?

Let’s start with Alaric, because that seems easiest. I really wasn’t sure I’d be able to like him because I thought I might just look at his face and see Werner from Legally Blonde, but not so—he was actually really cute and charming, and I like that he both shared and tossed the jackass folder. I think I might need to keep a jackass folder. See? When Mr. Tanner wasn’t busy teaching, coaching, chaperoning, and generally being the only adult in town, he had a couple of good ideas!

It made sense to put him and Jenna together, since they are of about the same age and hotness (although I think she might be just a tiiiiiny bit hotter), and so we could find out more about his back story. What did you guys think about that part at the end where he was waiting to be invited in? Billy thinks it’s a red herring, but I just don’t know—it’s almost like a red herring is too obvious so maybe he IS a vampire. But then, I’m getting into a Dwight Schrute-like circle of logic.

However … LOGAN showing up? Definitely a vampire, because he was totally dead. But this begs the question, WTF? Who brought him back and why and what is he doing at Jenna’s? INSANITY. Are vampires just starting to descend on this town or what?

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SUPERNATURAL: The Real Ghostbusters

Howdy, partners! Well, “Changing Channels” had the esteem of being my favourite episode of the season for one glorious week, but alas, it is no more. Last night was an awesome blend of true hilarity and genuine scariness, while also seeming like a really nice mix of early SUPERNATURAL and the more recent seasons. On the one hand there was the old-school ghost story that kind of felt like seasons 1-3, along with a healthy dose of the ultra-meta self-awareness that they’ve been exploring since last season. From the second the Winchesters entered the First Annual Supernatural Convention I was hooked. I mean, you had a lineup of Impalas outside, loads of pseudo-Sam and Deans mulling around and whisper-talking to each other, and then the Scarecrow popped by with a beverage and some lame jokes. My heart leapt when I saw the angelic soul who had the forethought to honour the fallen hero Ash, complete with mullet wig and sleeveless flannel shirt. There’s a special place in heaven for people like that.

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THE OFFICE: Murder

I do declare that I read in the journal that other OFFICE fans might have enjoyed this episode a bit more than I did. I’ll have to keep this week’s discussion of THE OFFICE short or the murder to be solved may be my own.

While I have trust in the writing staff of THE OFFICE, I haven’t yet seen evidence that they really thought through this whole Jim/Michael co-management thing.  It seems like every week we see variations of the same story.  Michael does something inappropriate and/or not in the best interest of the company and Jim tries to step in steady the ship, only later to learn that there was a method to Michael’s madness.  Jim comes around. Lesson learned.

Jim: “If you’re a family stuck on a life boat in the middle of the ocean, one parent might want to just keep rowing. But if the other parent wants to play a game, it’s not because they’re crazy, it’s because they’re doing it for the kids,”

What’s the point of having Jim as a co-manager? I’m not sure we’ve seen what he brings to the table (other than looking good in a suit everyday).  Originally, it seemed like Jim would be the one to take are of the important issues, you know, like taking care of the business, while Michael would focus on things like finding Waldo. But Dunder Mifflin is falling apart and it seems that neither manager has the capacity to deal with the potential fallout. Michael lacks the maturity to deal with the situation while Jim lacks the managerial expertise.  Someone just put Oscar in charge and call it a day.

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FRINGE: Of Human Action

Grrrrrr…this episode has completely caused me to get a song stuck in my head – Nerf Herder’s “5000 Ways to Die”. It’s not exactly a classic so I wouldn’t be surprised if you don’t know the lyrics. The ones that are now on repeat-play in my brain are “get in your car and drive real fast/up in the attic with a shotgun blast/take a bath with a clock radio/vodka and valium overdose”. Great – add that to the fresh visual of death by hot coffee over the head/face through a glass door, and I should have some really great dreams tonight…

Twists and Turns
Nothing is as it first appears in this episode. Initially, we are led to believe that two used car salesmen kidnap the son of a Massive Dynamic scientist and hold him for ransom. One of these men seems to be able to hypnotize people and cause them to violently kill/harm themselves or others.

By mid-episode, it becomes clear that it is really the teenage boy, Tyler, who is the kidnapper and the one with the power of mind control. The two car salesmen are his innocent victims. Tyler stages the kidnapping to get money from his father to use to start a new life with his mother…a mother who his father had led him to believe was dead. Tyler kidnaps Peter along the way and the two compare bad daddy notes (more on that later). Peter is eventually able to stop Tyler, with the help of Walter and the rest of the gang.

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SESAME STREET Memories: A Loaf of Bread, a Container of Milk…

As SESAME STREET celebrates its 40th Anniversary this week, the internet has been bursting at the seams with tributes to a show that was, and continues to be, such an important part of early education for so many. These funny little puppets weren’t there for just the amusement of children. They always had an important lesson to share.  But the best part of being a kid watching SESAME STREET is that you don’t know you’re learning a lesson. It’s all about the cute and funny little Elmo. Best friends Ernie & Bert. The always chipper Big Bird and the always grouchy Oscar. A Count who conveniently love to count (Ah Ah Ah). There’s Snuffy, the Cookie Monster and Grover, and don’t forget the early years when Kermit spent more of his time hanging out on Sesame than he did with his the likes of Fozzie the Bear and Miss Piggy.

Seeing so much about SESAME STREET this week really brought back some fond memories.  But as I thought about it, there was one memory that really stood out from the rest.  In fact, hardly a week goes by when I don’t reference this particular SESAME STREET moment.  It always seems to spring to mind whenever I have to go grocery shopping. An animated skit, first shown in 1972 (um, I watched it many years later — I just wanted to throw that out there), was developed to teach children about memorization through repetition.  Well it worked.  I’ve left my childhood way behind, but not this particular shopping list.

Does this ring a bell to anyone else?

Do you have a favorite SESAME STREET memory?

BONES: The Dwarf in the Dirt

Well, I think I figured out what that noise was on Wednesday night. Did you all hear that high pitched sound coming from the North? It was none other than about a million Canadians squeeing at the end of the episode. Am I right, Canada?

But you had good cause. Because happiness is a Gordon Gordon episode of BONES. CHEF Gordon Gordon Wyatt! Sprinkle in some Vincent Nigel Murray, AND Booth at the shooting range? Joie de vivre, indeed! All in all, I liked this episode. It’s not my favorite of the season, but it might be close. It wasn’t as cheesy as I’d dreaded, so I’ll blame my slight dread on Fox promos. And for the most part, I thought it felt very ‘true’ to the characters and the developing storylines. Plus, Brennan gave us this little gem…

“Fraud! Look at his femurs!”

One cannot deny the femurs, BONES fans.

THE CASE

The ‘Iron Leprechaun’ (aka Bryce Difanti) is found at the bottom of a sink hole under a collapsed road. His bones are green, and his unfortunate death does provide some excellent banter between our fave crime fighting duo. Suspects include the heir apparent Iron Leprechaun, Bryce’s girlfriend, the midget cougar (wow! BONES, really?), and the wife of the victim’s brother. Motives include money, sex, power, fame and love.

Once again, this case serves as a mirror for the character storyline. I quite enjoyed the way Gordon Gordon wove his way between both…mirrors, for lack of a better word.

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The Guys of GLEE Getting Down and Dirty

You know the guys of GLEE, but you’ve never seen them like this. Check out Mr. Schu, Kurt, Puck, Finn and Puck gettin’ down to business.

I know these JibJab videos have been around for quite some time, but they are still fun.

This video courtesy of Mark Salling (Puck) who sent it along to fellow Gleeker Kevin, Cory and Chris via Twitter.

Mark_Salling hey @druidDUDE @frankenteen @chriscolfer i dunno how they found this footage from the next episode http://tinyurl.com/ybqg7z5

TV Buzz: DOLLHOUSE Given Eviction Notice; SyFy Goes for Laughs; GLEE Star Gets Romantic…and more

Hear that? That’s the sound of the random TV news buzzzzzzzing around in my head. In this week’s TV Buzz we’re talking about bringing the funny to SyFy. The romance of a GLEEker. The demise of HANK, EASTWICK and DOLLHOUSE. More vampire news and much more.

Move over NPH, it’s Taylor Swift’s turn to host. The ratings for last night’s Country Music Awards were 24% higher than Emmys this year. 16.8M viewers tuned in to the CMAs. That’s just about the same amount of Kanye jokes told since the VMAs.

A BUFFY faithful is getting back into the vampire business.  Marti Noxon, a well respected writer/producer on series such as BUFFY, ANGEL, GREY’S ANATOMY, and most recently MAD MEN, has been hired by Dreamworks to write a remake of the 1985 horror comedy, “Fright Night” which is about a teenager who discovers his neighbors are vampires. At least Ms. Noxon knows her subject matter well.  BUFFY fans should be delighted. Now if Noxon could only find herself some underwear. (Cinemablend)

Since we’re already on the subject of vampires, unless you’ve been living under a rock you probably have heard that “New Moon“, the second movie in the “Twilight” saga is opening on November 20th. Whether you’re Team Edward or Team Jacob, you’ll probably dig the full “New Moon” coverage over at EW.com. Oh wait, this is a TV column. Ok, then I guess I should tell you that Stephenie Meyer, the author of the “Twilight” books will be doing her only “New Moon’ related interview on Friday…with Oprah. I’ve already set the DVR. Go ahead and judge me. I can take it.

Are you a fan of MY BOYS?  Well, I got a Twitter message yesterday from Jamie Kaler (who plays Mike Callahan) letting me know that he’ll be sending me updates from the set of MY BOYS when they start shooting again in January. I know I’m not the only MY BOYS fan around here, so who else is excited?! If you want to follow Jamie on Twitter, check him out at @jamiekaler.  And tell him @gmmrtv sent you!

More TV buzz after the break…
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Heather Locklear’s Return to Melrose Place – Sneak Peek

The bitch is back. If you’re a MELROSE PLACE fan from back in the day, or you’re loving the ’09 version, then you might want to see just how Heather Locklear makes her triumphant return as Amanda Woodward.

Here’s a sneak peek of Heather in her first scene when she returns to MELROSE PLACE next Tuesday, November 17th at 9pm on The CW.

Are you a fan of the new MELROSE PLACE? Looking forward to Heather Locklear joining the show? Are you a fan of the old MELROSE PLACE who might be willing to give the new show a shot now that Heather has returned?

TOP CHEF: Strip Around the World

Man, I feel like Top Chef has been gone FOREVER, even though it reality it was only one week (for the reunion dinner, which OnDemand decided wasn’t part of the season and I didn’t need to see, EYE ROLL). But we jumped right back into familiar territory with the Quickfire, which was the old “make Padma breakfast” challenge. This one, however, was breakfast in bed and included Nigella Lawson, who is apparently famous, but whose name only vaguely rang my bell. It barely even rang. It like … tinkled.

Eli won the Quickfire, which I actually thought was a good choice, based on pretty much everything besides tasting the food. But it certainly looked good, and I thought that it was easily the most conceptual dish, which I always enjoy. Eli didn’t win immunity, or even a real prize, but the “honor” of being the only chef from the season with a recipe in the Top Chef Quickfire Cookbook. That prize is lamesauce, which yes, you can smear over the bottom of a plate before plunking a tiny pile of food on it, thank you for asking.

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Tonight’s TV Spotlight…Thursday, November 12, 2009

How did it get to be Thursday already? Seriously? That just snuck right up on me. And while we are talking about Thursday night TV, can we all agree that it’s gotten quite out of hand? I am recording 10 shows between the hours of 8-10pm. All that and it doesn’t even include FRINGE which I stopped recording all together because I’m just too far behind. But I’m trying to get caught up online, and when I do, that will be 11 shows that I’m recording. Now that’s just insane.

With that being said, I think I’m about ready to officially drop FLASH FORWARD from my lineup. I was so excited for this show this summer, but it just hasn’t lived up to the hype for me.  I think the story is convoluted and the writers take the easy way out just a bit too often. I know it’s popular to say that the show is trying too much to be like LOST, but I do think there is a bit of merit in that statement.  In general, I think the show just tries too hard.

Are you a FLASH FORWARD fan?  Do you think I should stick with the show? Consider the comments your forum to try to convince me.  Why should I keep watching FLASH FORWARD.

So many other shows to get excited about tonight. I’ve included promo clips for a few of the show…you know just to get you in the mood.

Here are just a few shows worthy of your time tonight. And don’t forget about Jim Parsons and Kate Walsh both sitting down on the late night couches tonight

Flash Forward | 8pm on ABC
“Playing Cards with Coyote”
Mark’s romantic getaway with Olivia is cut short when he gets a tip that leads him to the tattooed assassin in his flashforward; Aaron learns the truth about his daughter’s accident.

The Vampire Diaries | 8pm on The CW
“History Repeating”
Bonnie has frightening dreams about one of her ancestors; Caroline and Bonnie continue to fight over the medallion; Damon tells Stefan why he returned to Mystic Falls. [GMMR:I’m way beyond hooked. I’m not ashamed to admit it. My name is Kath and I love The Vampire Diaries.]

“History Repeating” – Sneak Peek

Survivor: Samoa | 8pm on CBS
“Tastes Like Chicken”
Motivated by extreme hunger, one castaway kills a rat to provide for her tribe; the eighth contestant is eliminated.

Bones | 8pm on CBS
“The Dwarf in the Dirt”
Booth must get re-certified for FBI marksmanship, but he is not the accurate shot he was before undergoing brain surgery; Brennan and Booth investigate the death of a little person who was a former wrestling star.

Community | 8:00pm on NBC
“Debate 109”
Jeff joins the debate team after Annie’s partner drops out before the championship debate; Abed’s films appear to predict the future. [GMMR: This is the other show I’m thinking of dropping from my schedule. Maybe I won’t drop it completely, but it might get moved to DVR #2, to make way on DVR #1 for THE VAMPIRE DIARIES. This is another show with a huge fan following, but it just doesn’t make me laugh.]

(The rest of Thursday night’s lineup is after the jump)

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