Hell’s Kitchen Season 8 Episode 2

Before the first service began in Hell’s Kitchen Season 8 Episode 1, Antonia passed out, and she did not return from the hospital. After the service, Lisa was eliminated as well.

Nona defends herself by saying that everybody snores. Just not as loudly as she does.

The challenge will be to recreate Masaharu Morimoto’s specialities. They divide into teams of two, and are given 10 minutes to prepare the food. After that, since they have the extra pair, the guys have to decide who sucks most. Curtis and Trev willingly volunteer.

Melissa and Gail have made four pieces of tuna. They were supposed to make five. It doesn’t matter because everything is thrown to the side anyway.

At least Nona and Gail can count. They score 8 out of 9 points. Emily and Sabrina are the final team for the girls. They score 7 out of 9, bringing their total to 15 points.

Louis and Rob are the first pair for the men. Their rolls are good, but the tuna is all rejected. That gives them 4 points.

Russell and Raj are the second pair. They score 4 as well. Like the first team, their big failure is forgetting the wasabi.

That means Vinny and Boris will need to score 7 to tie. They score 8 to win. For their reward, they will be going to San Francisco for wine tasting. Raj interprets wine tasting to mean gulping. The women will be doing the prep for the sushi that they will be serving. Additionally, they must eat delicacies from around the world. Gail enjoys the food, but Sabrina takes one bite and starts throwing up. Gail finds Sabrina’s attitude toward what could reasonably be called gross food (and hence why it’s part of a punishment) to be an insult toward her and her culture.

Jillian and Vinny will be assistant maitre’ds for the evening. Jillian’s very quickly nervous about this task. At least she can find the tables, whereas it takes Vinny over 30 minutes to deliver his first ticket.

Ramsay calls out the ticket. What did he just call out? Raj doesn’t know. It would be nice if he could at least start cooking before screwing up.

Gail’s risotto is very nice. So is Sabrina’s sushi.

The boys have an additional problem. Curtis, whose team failed miserably in the challenge, is responsible for sushi. This quickly gets sent back. Trev doesn’t understand how sushi can be coming back. It doesn’t need to be cooked. Like salad? Or Trev’s portion of the sushi from the challenge?

Unlike the blue team, the red kitchen is going just fine and has moved to entrees. That’s where it stops. Emily’s meat is undercooked.

Vinny has a new plan. Tell the tables to not order sides. He has zero confidence in Raj. Of course, this gets back to Ramsay. Vinny can get out.

Once that’s done, it’s time to go back to Emily. Her meat is still not cooked. She doesn’t know how to cook it.

Boris, who’s supposed to be cooking dessert, believes that Trev is sinking, so he takes over on fish. Bad plan. Ramsay is unimpressed by his cooking.

Melissa’s on the wrong ticket, and what she’s cooking is wrong anyway. She can now swap places with Jillian so that she’s not cooking anything.

Meanwhile, Curtis continues to be unable to make sushi. Rob says that he could slide over and help, but his team sinking is not his problem. Curtis can now get lost as well.

Contrary to Vinny’s theory, Raj is not having any problem cooking the sides. He just keeps cooking and cooking as the pans pile up. He can go cool off in the dorm, sticking his head in the freezer.

For that matter, the whole blue team can get out. It goes without saying which team wins tonight’s service. Somehow, this leads to a shouting match, with Raj as the target. Boris calls him a waste of life. Wow.

Raj is the obvious first nomination. Curtis will be the second, although Boris isn’t winning any friends either. When his name comes up, that changes everybody’s minds. Boris, instead, is the second nominee.

It’s not done there, though. Ramsay calls Vinny forward. I don’t know why they didn’t nominate him in the first place. Then again, he tried to sabotage Raj, which they’re all completely okay with.

The person leaving Hell’s Kitchen is Curtis, for his inability to make sushi. Harsh. Raj has been a complete disaster, but he’s good for drama.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of Hell’s Kitchen Season 8 Episode 3, which airs Wednesday at 8/7c on Fox.

Hell’s Kitchen Season 8 Episode 1

That didn’t take very long for Hell’s Kitchen to return, and tonight we kick off season 8 with a new cast of 16 contestants.

When the chefs arrive, the doors are locked. JP is not there. Rather, they are greeted by James, another maitre’d with an accent. He tells them to put on some blindfolds and go somewhere else. They are taken to the restaurant where somebody will become a head chef at the end of this season. So pretty much no exotic far off locale. Rather, it’s in LA. Now they can turn around and go back to Hell’s Kitchen, where they will cook their signature dishes in 45 minutes.

Emily is having difficulty keeping her entire body in her shirt. Sabrina complains that she doesn’t get taken seriously. She wishes she were male, older, and/or fatter.

The teams are divided into men vs. women once again.

First order of business is for Ramsay to make Emily cover up her far too large assets.

Emily’s dish is nice and cooked perfectly. She hopes her duck breasts are what he remembers. Russell’s dish is undercooked, but the delivery hits the mark. Both of them score a point.

Nona’s asparagus is thrown away. Then her honey fried chicken gets spit out for being too sweet. Vinny is from Queens, and quite possibly auditioning for a part in a mob movie. Although his dish looks horrible, it tastes quite nice. That’s enough to score the point.

Sabrina yawns as the next two step forward. This causes Ramsay to get bent out of shape. Seriously? After a commercial break, he gives her a chair and moves on. Lame.

Antonia’s gumbo ends up in the trash, prompting the question “Are you crazy?” He makes all the other chefs take a bite. It’ll be hard for Curtis not to top that. Better than the first dish, but still not enough for a point.

Jillian’s eyebrows are tattooed on. A little weird and very noticeable, but easy to maintain at least. Her dish is delicious. Rob’s food is thrown away because it’s clearly not cooked properly. That makes it a 2-2 tie.

Gail and Trev both fail to score a point. Lisa and Lewis face the same fate.

Boris, however, scores a point against Melissa to take the 3-2 lead.

Raj and Sabrina are the final pairing. Sabrina’s dish is beautiful, and the fish is cooked perfectly. Raj creates a dish big enough for the whole family, a seafood and vegetable pancake (a what?). The seafood tastes quite nice, but the dish looks shockingly bad. That makes it a 3-3 tie.

They’re only as good as their weakest link. Antonia’s dish means the ladies have lost. For their punishment, they will have to clean up the mess in the kitchen. Emily doesn’t want to clean… she has people who do that for her. The men go for some champagne, caviar, and massages.

Antonia is feeling ill an hour before the reopening. What, did she eat some of her own gumbo? She mysteriously passes out. When she gets up, she’s unable to say what is wrong with her, just that she doesn’t feel good, so she is hauled away to the hospital.

Emily and Raj will be taking orders. Raj is stumbling over everything.

Boris and Melissa both start off fine on the pizza station. That does not last long, though, before she delivers something raw. Overhearing Ramsay yelling about how it’s raw, Boris does his best Ramsay impression. Awesome.

Jillian’s pasta is very nice. However, Trev is not so lucky on the salad. Who doesn’t know how to make salad?

Lisa’s slow.

Sabrina cooks her food, but she’s apparently not paying attention to the tickets. Believing she has done a good job anyway, she brings it up. She just wants to show off her work, whether the others are done or not.

Raj is a little worried about Ramsay’s karma. With good reason. Anyway, Raj is assigned to help out with pizza, but that’s not good. Boris thinks he’s crazy and starts yelling.

Lisa has finally delivered her fish. Too bad it wasn’t supposed to be sushi.

After more than two hours without any entrees having been delivered, the diners start walking out. Everybody can now get thrown out of the kitchen.

Raj receives a bunch of votes. Salad guy Trev is also nominated. His hope is that the crazy guy goes instead.

Gail nominates Lisa, who realizes it didn’t look like she knew what she was doing. Nona thinks it should be Sabrina, who responds saying that it should be Nona. Jillian calls Sabrina her girl, so she’s not liking Nona right now.

Word from the hospital is that Antonia will not be returning. One additional person will be going as well.

The blue team nominates Raj and Trevor; the red team nominates Lisa and Sabrina.

Who does Sabrina think should go home? Nona. That wasn’t one of the choices, but she’ll say it anyway because Nona is good for nothing and snores.

Sabrina can get back in line, and she can shut it. Trev can as well. The person leaving Hell’s Kitchen is Lisa for being in a little over her head. A fair decision.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of Hell’s Kitchen Season 8 Episode 2, which airs next on Fox.

Survivor: Nicaragua Episode 2

Survivor: Nicaragua Episode 1 kicked off the new season with the loss by the elderly tribe and their unanimous vote to get rid of Wendy. And just in case it wasn’t mentioned enough times, Jimmy Johnson is on the show.

Although he indicated he didn’t want to be the leader, the coach is giving everybody their assignments for the day. The other Jimmy is still jealous of him. Marty is comfortable with somebody else stepping up and potentially putting their neck on the line, as it takes the focus away from him.

Sash tells NaOnka that his goal is to bring as many minorities to the end as possible. Yeah, he’s apparently a minority, half black.

Holly, whose alliance already collapsed, continues to further alienate her tribesmates. She took some snails and decided to dump them, based on the look on Jill’s face when she was eating them. Holly has decided that, because she threw out their food, she is the one who needs to retaliate, taking Dan’s shoes and setting them adrift. Seems Dan brought a $1600 pair of shoes with him to the island. Why?

After doing this, Holly starts to feel guilty, apologizing for what she did. This isn’t doing her any favors. She wants to leave this game with honesty and integrity. Quickly apparently.

The tale of missing footwear continues. NaOnka is missing a sock. Her theory is an eye for an eye. Since one of her socks is missing, which she blames on a thief, she opts to steal somebody else’s socks. Now Jud can’t find his spare pair of socks. This causes her to get angry at him. These people are getting delusional early.

Holly’s having second thoughts about whether she can do this or not. Go ahead and quit then. I don’t want to listen to whining.

At the immunity challenge, one person from each tribe will race through mud to find a ball in hay. Once they have collected all four balls, three other tribe members will use wooden shields to bounce one ball from player to player until it lands in the barrel. First to four wins. They are also playing for reward, a choice between a tarp or fishing gear. The medallion of power, if used, grants a 1 ball lead, 25% of the way through, as well as allowing one weak person to sit out. Espada opts to use the power. NaOnka sits out for La Flor. Having chosen the power, Espada gets to have somebody sit out, and they choose Dan. Brenda and Jimmy J are up first. It’s just about tied. Jane and Kelly S go next. Kelly discovers the ball first. Alina goes next, as Jane finds the ball, allowing Holly to go. Alina grabs the ball. Kelly B is the last to run. Finding her ball first gets the younger tribe to the start of the next section first, in spite of the one ball disadvantage. Holly finally finds her ball. La Flor scores a point, which counting the disadvantage makes it a tie. They score again to take a lead 2-1. This is turning out to not be quite the balancing act I was expecting. All the players have to do is toss the ball and stop it from falling with their stomachs. Espada scores to tie it 2-2. Then they take the 3-2 lead. Benry keeps missing for the other tribe. Espada wins immunity. Really not a big fan of this silly twist. This massive advantage is just too much, although the younger tribe did make things interesting based on how pitiful Holly’s performance was. For their reward, the older tribe picks fishing gear.

Holly’s in a better mood following the win, but Jimmy J worries that people who have setbacks will continue to have setbacks.

Inside the fishing gear is a clue to the hidden immunity idol. No chance of hiding this since everybody is standing there. Jill figures it’s near treemail. Rather than going to get it for herself, she tells Marty where to look, and he happens to be standing next to Dan at the time. This allows Marty to find the idol, and this is enough to form a partnership of sorts, if not an alliance.

In the challenge, Kelly B performed well, eliminating the hope of certain tribe members that she would not be able to keep up in any sort of physical challenge. Ultimately, she may not, but it didn’t show here.

Fearing that she’s got a thing for Chase, Alina wants to get rid of Brenda.

Jud obviously wants to get rid of the sock stealer. The other guys all agree with him, but they fear that Chase is getting too close to Brenda.

NaOnka would like to target Shannon because he’s talking too much. Pot, meet kettle. Brenda thinks they can get Chase on their side. Seeing as he runs to tell her that Shannon is helping to plot against her, that may be a logical thought. Doesn’t seem either of these people have seen Survivor before. Their loud conversation is overheard by Alina, who warns the others.

The question is whether Chase wants to lie to Brenda, or if he would rather lie to the four people who he said he was going to vote against her with.

Shannon doesn’t know how to bite his tongue. Even a little. At tribal council, he has a warning for the guy who’s being led around by his girlfriend. Rather than accepting that Chase is torn between two alliances, Shannon continues to go off on him. Jud tells Shannon to stop being an idiot. Sash pipes in and tells him he’s digging his own grave, to which Shannon responds, “Are you gay?” Oh, it’s the middle school tribe.

Okay, Shannon’s done. Now it’s time for the next obnoxious person to open up a big mouth. NaOnka doesn’t like Fabio. He’s not surprised because she has an attitude. I noticed.

Jud’s voting based on the original gameplan. He guesses that’s still the plan now. Alina, too, is sticking with the plan she insisted on getting rolling.

Votes
Shannon
Brenda
Shannon
Brenda
Shannon
Brenda
Shannon
Shannon
Shannon

With 7 votes, Shannon has been voted off the island. Hopefully NaOnka isn’t far behind. In closing, Shannon hopes the old people beat his tribe.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of Survivor: Nicaragua Episode 3, which airs Wednesday at 8/7c on CBS.

American Idol Season 10 Judges

It’s been a rough year for American Idol judges. First Paula Abdul quit because she wanted more money than she was worth, which from a judging standpoint merely eliminated babbling and critiques on how cute the contestants’ outfits looked. She was then replaced by Ellen DeGeneres, somebody who had even fewer judging credentials, but at least she was funny. After that judging shuffle, Simon Cowell quit at the start of the new year so that he could begin work on X Factor, seriously bringing into question whether Idol will actually be worth watching any more.

Once the season concluded, Ellen DeGeneres quit, because she did not feel comfortable judging people. Really? Finally, earlier this month, Kara DioGuardi left the show as well, as rumors began swirling the new powers that be/is/are wanted to go in another direction.

With just Randy Jackson left standing, now we find out what that direction is. In addition to Randy, who will be returning, there will be two new judges, bringing the panel down to the three it had been for so long before needlessly expanding to four. Steven Tyler of Aerosmith and Jennifer Lopez are the new judges who will be joining us for season 10.

As much money as they dropped getting this trio together, I sure hope it’s worth it. I’m underwhelmed already, though.

The Biggest Loser Season 10 Episode 1

The Biggest Loser is back for season 10 with a new cast of 21 contestants. This season’s theme is about paying it forward, with the hope of reaching communities, rather than just individual contestants.

If 21 contestants sounds like an odd number, there’s a reason for that. Bob, Jillian, and Alison will travel to seven cities: Detroit, Los Angeles, Portland, Atlanta, Phoenix, Oklahoma City, and Boston. In each city there will be three contestants. Of those, the ones who finish the the fitness challenges first will win a spot on the ranch. The seven who finish in last will be eliminated, but will have another shot at a later date. Not liking this twist. Why not just have the losers all on one team like season 4?

First stop is Detroit, where Jesse Atkins, Sophia Franklin, and Aaron Thompkins are the first contestants. Bob thinks that all three of these people need to be on this show. For that matter, half the audience does, too. Jesse has a fog weighing over everything and is wasting his life. Sophia says she was shut down by her brother’s death, although prior to that she was 220 pounds to begin with. Aaron eats rather than being an alcoholic. At this weight, it’s hard to say which is worse.

Jesse: 369 pounds
Sophia: 272 pounds
Aaron: 468 pounds

The challenge starts now. The first two to step 500 times will make it to the ranch, while the other goes home. Aaron gets off to an early lead, which lasts about 23 steps. Sophia and Jesse hit 100, with Aaron bringing up the rear. Sophia hits 250 first, about 5 ahead of Jesse. She’s also the first to hit 500. Jesse’s a close second. Aaron, the largest contestant of the season by 40 pounds, is the one who will not be going to campus.

The next stop is the windy city, Los Angeles. Ada Wong, Adam Hurtado, and Montina Cooper are there to compete. Adam’s been ridiculed his whole life, but that never stopped him from gaining more weight. His mother, as well, was obese, dying of a heart attack at age 51. Ada’s brothers died at an early age, and her parents won’t let her forget it. Montina is a backup singer for Beyonce, a dream job, but she’s tired of being in the background due to her image.

Adam: 402 pounds
Ada: 258 pounds
Montina: 287 pounds

It’s time to get to stepping. Adam jumps to an early lead, which lasts about 70 steps before Ada takes over. Montina is quickly falling behind the pack. Ada hits 500 first, followed by Adam. Montina’s knee has been bothering her throughout the competition, but she finishes alongside her husband and son.

Next stop is Portland, where we are joined by Mike from season 7, as well as contestants Corey Pinkerton, Burgandy Keel, and Tina Elliott. Burgandy has 5 kids and puts her family first, leading to convenient excuses. Corey wants his wife to have a strong husband. Tina is this season’s grandma.

Burgandy: 231 pounds
Corey: 391 pounds
Tina: 263 pounds

They will not be stepping. Rather, they will have a 1 mile race. Corey takes off pretty quickly. Burgandy passes him eventually, and he begins walking. His hope is that he can at least beat Tina, who’s more than twice his age. Burgandy is the first person to cross the finish line. Corey’s in second but not with a particularly large lead. With a short distance left to the line, Corey collapses. He gets up and tries again, then he falls again. When he’s down, Tina crosses the line. I’m sensing a pattern here in which the biggest people are going to be the ones who get cut.

Atlanta brings us Patrick House, Anna Wright, and Rick Deroque. Anna lost her 3 year old son to cancer in 1999. Rick wants to be around for his 5 kids and 9 grandkids. Patrick hopes to make a change so that his kids don’t pick up his bad habits.

Anna: 330 pounds
Rick: 350 pounds
Patrick: 400 pounds

Their challenge is also to run a mile. Rick overtakes the lead from Patrick. He hopes to prove that being the old guy isn’t going to be the determining factor here, and that heart is what matters. He keeps right on going to finish first. Patrick is behind him. In the rear is Anna, who’s having a meltdown, but at least she keeps going to finish the race.

We meet Jessica Delfs, Mark Pinkhasovich, and Shanna Masten in Phoenix. It’s a hundred degrees. In the shade. But it’s a dry heat. Jessica had a rough relationship with her mother. Pigging out was her way of getting even, but she’s really only hurting herself. Mark kept eating the same in college as he did when he was working out a lot in high school, which led to the freshman 50. Shanna was diagnosed with cancer last year. Having fought to live through that, she’s ready to beat obesity, too, since that’s self inflicted and she has a choice about it.

Jessica: 282 pounds
Mark: 421 pounds
Shanna: 242 pounds

They will be competing in a 1 mile run. Jessica takes the lead, and Shanna falls behind. Keeping that lead throughout, Jessica places first. Mark performs quite well considering his size and places second. That leaves Shanna in third, which is a shame because she’s got such an inspirational story.

Boston is the final destination, and there we meet Mark Kruger of season 5, along with contestants Alfredo Dinten, Elizabeth Ruiz, and Brendan Donovan. Brendan has been dieting since around the age of 13. He teaches a wellness program, but is unable to practice what he teaches. Elizabeth gained 90 pounds during her abusive marriage. Alfredo is a diabetic who’s been told he will be dead within 5 years if he does not lose the weight.

Brendan: 362 pounds
Elizabeth: 244 pounds
Alfredo: 367 pounds

This last group will also be stepping. This is starting off to be a close race. Alfredo is the first to 400 steps, with Brendan about 10 behind him. Elizabeth is falling behind, and the inhaler isn’t helping. Her body gives up, and she collapses. She’s fine, but she will not be going to the ranch.

So that rounds out the 14 contestants who will be competing on this season:

Ada
Adam
Alfredo
Allie
Brendan
Burgandy
Jesse
Jessica
Lisa
Mark
Patrick
Rick
Sophia
Tina

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of The Biggest Loser Season 10 Episode 2, which airs Tuesday at 8/7c on NBC.

Hell’s Kitchen Season 8 Cast

It seems like season 7 just ended last month. Probably because it did. Hell’s Kitchen is coming back again with a new cast of 16 chefs.

Antonia Boregman
40
Line Cook
Lake Station, IN (Hometown: Chicago, IL)

Boris Poleschuk
38
Catering Chef
Manalapan, NJ (Hometown: Brooklyn, NY)

Emily Kutchins
29
Executive Chef, Senior Home
Chicago, IL

Gail Novenario
28
Executive Chef
Wantagh, NY

Jillian Flathers
28
Sous Chef
Pagosa Springs, CO

Lewis Curtis
26
Executive Chef
Cabot, AR (Hometown: Beebe, AR)

Lisa LaFranca
48
Corporate Food Director
Fort Mills, SC (Hometown: Brooklyn, NY)

Louis Repucci
28
Children’s Camp Chef
Felton, CA (Hometown: Diamond Bar, CA)

Melissa Doney
31
Executive Sous Chef
Glens Falls, NY (Hometown: Albany, NY)

Nona Sivley
29
Sous Chef
Loganville, GA (Hometown: Fort Worth, TX)

Raj Brandston
49
Personal Chef
Los Angeles, CA (Hometown: Queens, NY)

Rob McCue
36
Law Firm Chef
Brooklyn, NY (Hometown: Massapequa, NY)

Russell Kook II
29
Sous Chef
Chicago, IL (Hometown: Madison, WI)

Sabrina Brimhall
22
Prep Chef
El Cajon, CA (Hometown: Moreno Valley, CA)

Trev McGrath
30
Line Cook / Bartender
Chicago, IL

Vinny Accardi Jr.
29
Line Cook
Las Vegas, NV (Hometown: Queens, NY)

The Biggest Loser Season 10 Cast

The Biggest Loser is returning for season 10, Pay It Forward, Tuesdays at 8/7c on NBC starting September 21. The 21 (that’s an odd number) contestants competing are:

Aaron Thompkins
29
Kent, OH

Ada Wong
27
San Francisco, CA

Adam Hurtado
26
Santa Ana, CA

Alfredo “Fredo” Dinten
43
Staten Island, NY

Allie Ishcomer
22
Moore, OK

Anna Wright
39
Atlanta, GA

Brendan Donovan
32
Boston, MA

Burgandy Keel
35
Eagle Mountain, UT

Corey Pinkerton
27
Fairbanks, AK

Elizabeth Ruiz
31
Lawrence, MA

Jesse Atkins
28
St. Paul, MN

Jessica Delfs
27
Tucson, AZ

Lisa Mosley
31
Norman, OK

Mark Pinkhasovich
31
East Brunswick, NJ

Montina Cooper
35
Houston, TX

Patrick House
28
Vicksburg, MS

Richard “Rick” Deroque
54
Conway, AR

Sandy Dolan
30
Fort Worth, TX

Shanna Masten
38
Pima, AZ

Sophia Franklin
28
Germantown, MD

Tina Elliott
58
Boring, OR

Tina Elliott Biggest Loser 10

Tina Elliott
Age: 58
Height: 5’7″
Starting Weight: 263 pounds
Hometown: Boring, OR
Occupation: Retired homemaker

NBC Bio
Currently Tina is a retired happy homemaker with two daughters and eight grandchildren. The 58-year-old spent most of her working years in retail selling high-end clothes. She was thin and fit growing up, and worked as a swimwear model in her early teens and 20s. Tina really didn’t start putting on weight until her early 40s, when a string of emotional events took a toll on her. The end of her marriage, the loss of her beloved father, and her daughter becoming pregnant as a teen all led to emotional eating, bad food choices, and her current unhealthy weight of 263. She’s now happily remarried, but with one overweight daughter, and health issues such as high blood pressure and sleep apnea, Tina knows she has to get healthy for herself and her family. She’s looking forward to the day when her weight does not determine what she can physically accomplish – and she can’t wait to visit her favorite retail-clothing store and have everything fit.