Jesse has returned to Vocal Adrenaline claiming that he was never accepted at McKinley High. Led by oh so wonderful Jesse St. James (Jonathan Groff), they sing Queen’s hit “Another One Bites The Dust.” I do enjoy the sweet melodic tones of Groff’s voice but would have loved a duet between him and Lea Michele again. Given what happens later in the episode, I assume a song could have been found about hearts breaking. New Directions gets their choir room TP’d (with Sue’s help) and all the members fall into a funk.

The episode also featured Terri, who I adore (the actress and the character). Terri and Will sign divorce papers, each with very meaningful glances. The acting is so brilliant, because Terri doesn’t even have to say a word but you can tell exactly what she is thinking. When she’s about to walk out, she tells Will that he’s still that 16 year old boy to her and he always will be. Divorce is awful, whether or not one of the parties involved is a tad bit on the crazy side. But I think this scene really represented the start to a new Terri.

To get revenge on VA, Puck and Finn deflate the tires of all of their competitors. Apparently, they were expensive Land Rovers and Shelby decides she won’t press charges if they pay to fix it. Finn and Puck get jobs at Sheets N’Things to earn money, and Terri is their boss. Howard Bamboo is back, but I can’t say he was a memorable character at all for me. Sandy Ryerson is also back, and his scenes were definitely entertaining. At Sheets N’Things, Puck, Finn, Howard, Sandy and Terri sing “Loser” by Beck. If Terri had a big solo it was cut but I’m pretty sure you can hear her softly singing. She talks to Finn and while it seems like she might be a little smitten with him (ew!), I think it’s really more than she sees a lot of Will in Finn. She helps him with their Glee project (going funk) and seems to want to move forward with her life. She is working hard to become a manager, and she admits that she has a compulsive need to crush other people’s dreams. She sees Finn as her second chance. But rest assured, there’s still crazy Terri in there who has a little ridiculous crush on Finn and demotes Howard Bamboo. One of my favorite Terri lines to Puck was “I thought Jews were supposed to be smart.”

Besides the Terri/Will divorce situation, one of the most heartbreaking scenes happened between Rachel and Jesse. Throughout the entire episode, Rachel is agonizing over Jesse and their breakup. When she goes to talk to Schue, she is convinced that Jesse did this on purpose to get her depressed before regionals. While half listening to her, Schue devises a plan to get back at Sue. The show used a lot of inner monologue moments, which I really enjoyed. This was one but Puck also had an inner monologue when planning revenge. In any case, Jesse calls Rachel and tells her to meet him in the parking lot. I don’t know if it was my naivete or resistance to believe that Jesse could be so ill intentioned, but I was hoping they would make up. Instead, the entire Vocal Adrenaline team throws eggs at Rachel. The last one to do so is Jesse. She encourages him to do it — like he broke her heart. Jesse tells her he loved her right before he cracks an egg over her head. People (not me) find Rachel to be annoying, so I wonder if this scene was made to take her down a notch. She became incredibly vulnerable after this moment. But as I said, I wanted to believe Jesse had genuine feelings for Rachel. However, “Funk” and “Theatricality” were supposed to air in the opposite order, so perhaps this is why we don’t get a ton of explanation behind his motivations. Whatever the case, I think and hope he will be redeeming himself in the finale. High school students are cruel, but Jesse St. James, stop breaking Rachel’s heart! After the egg incident, Rachel goes to the Glee Club, understandably upset, and they all rally behind her. Kurt’s line “Rachel’s one of us, we’re the only ones who get to humiliate her,” was great.

Meanwhile, Schue has successfully seduced Sue. He sings and dances provocatively to “Tell Me Something Good,” and asks her out on a date. She shows up in pearls and a track suit. How amazing! Of course, Schue stands her up and she is forced into a big funk. Her house is full of trophies (like a hoarder) and Schue eventually sees the error of his ways and convinces her to get out of bed and coach the Cheerios in Nationals. She bribes him — regarding the trophy in the choir room – into kissing her but they don’t go through with it. I really liked seeing another human side to Sue. She admits to Schue that she doesn’t want to be alone and the hope of a relationship made her feel normal. I think we can all relate to Sue’s softer side. (Perhaps not her crazy side though).

Back in Glee world, Quinn wants her chance at the Funk assignment. Mercedes is perplexed by this, but Quinn sings “It’s A Man’s Man’s World.” Let me tell you, I am in love with this performance. Dianna Agron is a stunning actress and while her “pregnant” dancers behind her were a little strange, I thought she brought the house down. I can’t stop listening to it. After this performance, Mercedes’ opinion on Quinn softens. They have a wonderful moment where they talk about prejudices (in a way) and Mercedes asks Quinn to move in with her. I adore their moments together. They are both such great actresses and I hope we see more of this in season 2.

Earlier in the episode, Sandy Ryerson tells Schue that Vocal Adrenaline has never been able to pull of a funk number (hence his motivation behind the assignment). So Schue devises a plan: he calls Jesse and tells him to bring his group to the auditorium. The Glee Club performs “We Want The Funk” in front of them. It wasn’t my favorite musical number ever but Heather Morris (Brittany) and Harry Shum Jr. (Mike Chang) are amazing dancers and this number was a lot of fun to watch. Of course, it intimidates their rivals and puts them out of their funk. I loved Chris Colfer’s crazy deep voice in the song. Who knew?

I really did enjoy this episode. There were no huge ballads, or giant tear-jerker moments (although I will admit that Jesse/Rachel scene got me), but there was a whole lot of heart. I loved the little subtle choices made throughout the episode: “Loser” was playing after the musical number, Sue’s crazy trophy house, and even the Carmel High sweatshirts. I think and hope this won’t be the end for Terri, as she still has growing to do (and let’s be honest so does Schue). I hope Jesse sticks around, too. I want to know more about him and what he’s really thinking. Even if it’s only for one episode (because he’s a senior), I would still love to see him. Next week (the season finale) Emma returns! I couldn’t be more excited! I know she had to be written out to go film The Smurfs movie but I am so glad she’s coming back. Without fail, every week, Glee puts a smile on my face. That is unless, it moves me to tears. I am sad to see the season finale approach so soon, but excited to see what season 2 brings.

Glee airs on Tuesday nights at 9 pm on FOX.

“Theatricality” focused on two major stories: Rachel and her new found mom, Shelby and Kurt, Finn and his dad. Overall, it was about being true to yourself, which I think is a common lesson taught at McKinley High. Tina was in trouble for dressing like a goth (partly because Figgins thinks vampires are real) and is struggling to find a new look. Vocal Adrenaline was pulling out all the stops and going Gaga. In response, Schue decides that the Glee club’s assignment is to go Gaga as well. This of course excites Kurt, the girls (and me) and results in a mind-blowing performance of “Bad Romance.” Gaga to the rescue for Tina! I am constantly amazed by how the covers of these songs completely trump the originals. I love Lady Gaga, don’t get me wrong, but this was amazing. All of the girls and Kurt walk around in crazy Gaga gear, and Kurt gets a lot of flack for it. The rest of the Glee club did too, though. Rachel’s crazy stuffed animal costume (because her dads couldn’t sew) was hilarious.

When part of the Glee club goes to spy on Vocal Adrenaline, Shelby sings “Funny Girl,” which leads Rachel to confronting her mom. It was certainly not the warmest of receptions, and Rachel shared a sweet metaphor about her dads bringing her water when she was upset, so she wasn’t sure if she was sad or thirsty. They have a nice talk but it wasn’t exactly Shelby begging Rachel to be her mom. This particular storyline hit home for me for reasons I don’t tend to share with a lot of people (more of a dad thing than a mom thing) In any case, there was no sugar coating here. You might expect in a show that is full of music and happiness that Rachel would go running into her mom’s arms and all would be great in the world again. But Shelby sees that she’s missed out on so much, including her chance to be a real mother.

In Kurt/Finn world, Finn is upset that he has to move in with Kurt and his dad. Kurt decides to redecorate the room to impress Finn. Their relationship is a complicated one, that’s for sure. Any unrequited love is complicated. I know I went through my fair share of crushes in high school, and none of them were over once the other one found out. Emotions don’t just automatically go away, no matter how hard you try. You change and grow and eventually get over it. Believe me, I think often of embarrassing crush moments, but I had them. Everyone does. I don’t think that Kurt having an innocent crush on Finn was an irrelevant storyline. If anything, it was realistic. People want things they can’t have, even if they try to manipulate things to have them.

When Finn comes home to his newly redecorated room, he goes off on Kurt. He calls some of the decorations the “f” word and yells at him a lot. Kurt’s dad (Burt) hears what’s going on and completely loses it. He puts Finn in his place, and confronts his ignorance. He says that he used to call things the “f” word before and he knows what it means. Finn meant it in that way, and he can’t have poison like that living under his roof. This was a powerhouse performance by Mike O’Malley and if anyone deserves a Guest Emmy nomination, it’s him. I think that it all made sense in context. Burt may not have known about the Finn crush but what Finn said was still awful. Kurt’s redecoration might have been in an effort to win Finn over, but as I said, we all do things in high school we regret.

Burt’s speech was touching, amazing and powerful. If only we could all have dad’s that would come to our defense like that. The world would be a much better place. Also, I’d like to note, that Kurt tried to stop him in the beginning too, coming to Finn’s defense. Finn was wrong in saying what he did, and he was put in his place. I’m sure he was confused too, though. He certainly redeems himself in the end.

Rachel goes to speak to her mom one more time, who is leaving (town?). Shelby talks to her about the difference between a mom and a mother and gives her a star glass and asks her when she gets thirsty to drink from that glass. Rachel asks her to sing together and she makes the surprising choice of “Poker Face.” However, their arrangement certainly worked. Who knew?! This was the other moment that brought me to tears. I obviously don’t think this is the last we’ve seen of Shelby. Perhaps she and Rachel will have some sort of relationship, but it’s not all that easy. The hug between them at the end made you see how desperate Rachel is for a mother, but it doesn’t mean this will just happen overnight. I would have liked to see more discussion like the one they had before Shelby left, but I thought it was great nonetheless.

Back to the Kurt/Finn story. Towards the end of the episode, Kurt is in his crazy Gaga outfit and the jocks are about to beat him up when Finn comes to his rescue in his own shower curtain dress/outfit. Seeing him in this outfit was quite interesting to say the least, but I think the message of the whole thing was that he was showing that he was legitimately sorry, and that everyone says things they don’t mean when they are angry. I thought the end scene that wasn’t a huge musical number was kind of saying “Hey, look everyone, we learned a lesson!” but I don’t think that detracted from what went on with Kurt and Burt. The show needs moments like this to keep it grounded. The lesson of togetherness and calling out ignorance is a good one in any context. That said, I’m sure Kurt’s antics will come out eventually and be addressed (I hope!) but I don’t think they were particularly shocking or will result in any sort of shocking consequences.

I realize I have gone this far and not mentioned a ton of the music. The Glee guys aren’t as crazy for Gaga and they sing Kiss’ “Shout It Out Loud” which I thought was creative but I wasn’t super thrilled with it. Then again, in any musical, are you crazy about every single song? Puck (and the guys) sing “Beth” to Quinn. Quinn and Puck previously had a discussion about Puck’s horrible baby name idea (Jack Daniels or Jackie Daniels). Puck tries to make it up to her, by suggesting this name and asking if he can be with her in the delivery room. I think Dianna Agron is such a wonderful actress, whose facial expressions say it all, which you could see in this musical number. While Puck is ridiculous with his choices, I think he genuinely means well.

My main thought about this entire episode was that ignorance should not be tolerated. Finn certainly redeems himself and I don’t think it was necessarily about him being the person who all the blame falls on for everything. It was about him needing to say he was sorry for taking it too far and using a word that really should never have been uttered. It was about Burt standing up for his son (even if he didn’t hear the first part of the conversation). It was about unrequited love that granted, will never happen, but isn’t easy to just let go of. Kurt may have set this whole thing up with his parents in the first place to get closer to Finn, but I don’t think that was Kurt thinking he could make Finn fall in love with him. Like Tina who dresses goth (and makes an amazing reference to Asian vampires!), Kurt likes to be overly expressive, but that’s part of being in high school and figuring out who you are. Hey, I used to wear over-sized NY Knicks tee shirts and weird shoulder-less bodysuits, but I got over it. Tastes change and subside as you grow older and learn your own style. Also, your decision making skills inevitably sharpen and get better with time. Mike O’Malley’s performance is worthy of so much praise, and I honestly think the storyline as a whole is too.

Ryan Murphy hasn’t just created a show about high school and Glee club and singing and cliques, he’s created a show where people learn from their mistakes (Finn), people are forced to face them (Shelby, Puck, Quinn) and people are forced to move on (Kurt, Finn, Rachel and Shelby). I love it for that. And I thought last night’s episode really exemplified the whole point of the show. No show is without flaws, but I can’t wait to see what’s next. I know there is Terri in the promos, which I am really looking forward to.

And just recently, Glee was renewed for season 3 which is amazing! So excited and it was so deserving.

Glee airs Tuesday nights at 9 pm on FOX.

Since 2007, NF, Inc has been collecting hand-drawn, one-of-a-kind cards from various stars of film, TV, music, and sports in order to raise money for research to find a cure for the genetic nerve disorder. This year we have collected some great ones from Cory Monteith, Kristoffer Polaha, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jason Alexander, Tim Conway, Gillian Anderson, Florence Henderson, Matthew Perry, Howie Mandel, Elizabeth Mitchell, Kal Penn,  Lizzy Caplan, Tim Allen, Gary Cole, Melissa Joan Hart, Nolan Gould, Doris Roberts, Amy Poehler, and Tim Daly.

And beginning Tuesday, March 2nd at 10 pm, TNT will air six new episodes. So if this was a show that interested you but you never had a chance to watch (the cast is fantastic!), you have the opportunity tonight. And because the fate of the show might be unknown, you might just help it get another season. Southland is a great drama that doesn’t feel formulaic or overdone, so tune in tonight at 10 pm on TNT to see what all the buzz is about.

The season premiere picks up where they left off. Chuck Bartowski is trying to embrace his new role as a spy. He is slowly grasping his new powers with the Intersect 2.0, and suddenly knows kung fu, how to play musical instruments, and get out of the stickiest situations. But what makes Chuck the character we adore, is not his Intersect powers. At heart, Chuck is still that lovable nerd from Buy More who is head over heels for Sarah. And it’s those things that make Chuck who he is, that can interfere with his ability to perform as a spy. If he can’t flash (Intersect 2.0 lingo that means to gain the information to do those aforementioned crazy things), he risks failing at a mission. And he can’t flash when he gets nervous or upset or scared or shows any sort of emotions. And let’s face it, if you are at risk of being beat up, you probably would get scared too.

The season premiere addresses both Chuck and Sarah’s relationship, as well as their abilities to perform as spies (and Sarah’s job as Chuck’s handler). There are still some amazing kick-ass action sequences, but Chuck grappling with and attempting to embrace his new spy responsibilities is certainly the most interesting part of the season premiere. The premiere spans over 2 nights, and the next several episodes (I have seen the first 5) are fantastic. They are filled with amazing guest stars in Brandon Routh, Angie Harmon, Steve Austin, Josie Davis, Armand Assante, and Vinnie Jones. Brandon Routh plays a very interesting “bad-guy” type, who grapples with his emotions and the myth that spies don’t fall in love. The Buy More favorites Morgan, Lester and Jeff are still around, and there is some new management coming to the Buy More. And of course the Chuck/Sarah storyline continues to be done in a very unique way. Of course, I am rooting for them (I have been all along), but like any great show, the creators (geniusws Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak) cannot just hand us their love story on a silver platter. I’m sure all the Chuck fans out there (I know I am one of them) might not want to wait, but gratification will come.

Chuck is a show that was in danger of cancellation, but it is so incredibly brilliant. Even if you didn’t catch every episode of the last 2 seasons, you can absolutely catch on. It has everything a show should be, down to the fantastic music and theme song. Seriously, don’t miss it! The 3rd season premiere is tonight at 9 pm and continues on Monday at 8 pm (it’s regular time slot) on NBC.

On Sunday, I will be posting my advance review of the 3rd season premiere, but I thought in the meantime, you might enjoy a behind-the-scenes video preview of the upcoming season.

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Be sure to check back on Sunday, January 10th for my advance review of the 3rd season premiere. Also, you really should be watching Chuck. It’s fantastic. Tune in on Sunday at 9 pm on NBC, and then again on Monday at 8 pm. It’s a two hour Chuck premiere event!

The show centers around Lux (Britt Robertson) who has decided to emancipate herself from foster care at 16. This process leads her to her biological father Nate “Baze” Bazile (Kris Polaha from Mad Men) and her biological mother Cate Cassidy (Shiri Appleby from ER and Roswell). Baze owns a bar and lives above it, and is stuck almost in a state of arrested development–friends with a bunch of frat boys and waking up every day at noon. Cate is a local radio star of a show called “Morning Madness” (which Lux listens to every morning) with her partner and off-air boyfriend Ryan Thomas (Kerr Smith aka Jack from Dawson’s Creek). Through unforseen legal decisions (a judge grants Cate and Baze joint custody), their world becomes interconnected, and Lux ends up with the parents she never knew she had.

Liz Tigelaar (Brothers and Sisters, What About Brian and Dawson’s Creek) created Life Unexpected, and has put many parts of herself into this project. The show reminds me of old school WB, and I mean that in the best way possible. We need more heartfelt dramas out there, and I’m so excited for this one.

Life Unexpected premieres January 18th at 9 pm on the CW. Clearly, this is a show that is not to be missed! I will have much more coverage as the premiere approaches including interviews with Shiri Appleby, Kris Polaha, Britt Robertson and Liz Tigelaar, as well as reviews of the next couple episodes. In addition, on January 11th, the CW will be releasing the first 10 minutes of the pilot online (on their site as well as the Facebook fan page) for viewers to get a taste of this wonderful show.

But for now, check out this extended preview: [vodpod id=Groupvideo.4296354&w=425&h=350&fv=%26rel%3D0%26border%3D0%26]

The episode centered around Payson…her grief, her friends, her struggles. At the same time however, Kaylie is struggling with being the new National Champion. She hired a manager and now her time is taken up with media appearances, parades and distractions. Kaylie also feels extremely guilty for winning the National Championship, because Payson would have won if it wasn’t for her injury. Payson plays everything off like it’s fine, and she is doing great, but it is clear she isn’t. Her sister Becca wants to watch the parade with The Rock gymnasts, which turns into a painful moment for Payson who feels she should have been there. But she still insists everything is fine.

At the beginning of the episode, all of the girls are speculating about what’s going on with Payson. The first to visit Payson is Emily, who offers her support, and plays cards with her. The next to visit is Kaylie who asks her friend for advice on being National Champion, and expresses her guilt. Payson naturally doesn’t deal with this very well, and Kaylie leaves crying. Nikki Russo (Payson’s perhaps love interest) visits next and Lauren overhears them talking about the cortisone he gave to Payson. Payson tells Nikki to go get it from her locker and no one will ever know. Of course, conniving Lauren takes this as an opportunity to hold something over Nikki’s head, and goes to the gym before him to get the cortisone from Payson’s locker. When Lauren visits Payson, she shrugs her off. Later on in the episode, Payson’s dad has a talk with her and tells her to let it all out. She has gone through a great tragedy and lost her dream, and it’s okay to feel whatever way she feels. Later on that night, the Keeler family is awakened to Payson throwing her trophies away and breaking her gymnastics paraphernalia. This moment was really poignant. We see a crack in Payson’s facade of perfection and it was just so refreshing.

Meanwhile, Emily and Damon have a nice last date on the roof of the Pizza Shack. However, Razor returns and interrupts them. Damon seemed to be in the middle of asking Emily to wait for him when he goes to LA, but is unable to finish because of Razor. They say goodbye on sort of a bad note, and Emily is left behind. However, she decides (with some motherly advice) to go see Damon before he leaves for LA. She catches him on the bus, and tells him to ask her to wait for him. He does, they kiss, it was amazing. But now that Razor is back, there will of course be some sort of love triangle. Also, judging from scenes from the upcoming season, Damon is not as good as he seems. I really enjoy Damon (more than Razor), so I’m interested to see what happens. In addition, Lauren tells Sasha about the whole Carter mess, and Carter’s suspension is lifted. It is clear that Lauren is only doing this for selfish reasons and wants to add more distractions to Kaylie’s life. I like the male gymnasts though (Carter and Nikki) so I’m glad to see him back in the gym, and I’m sure there will be more love drama in the future.

Towards the end of the episode, Payson and her mom have a really touching scene. Her mom tells her that The Rock is still a part of her life, and that it taught her incredibly important life lessons. Payson then decides to return to The Rock (to her family’s surprise) and is greeted with applause and hugs from her friends and teammates. I believe Sasha’s words were “How do we greet a returning champion?” I really love how they handled the Payson storyline in this episode. I obviously would love to see her back in the gym, but I think she is going to take on an important role in her friends’ lives. After the previous conversation with Kaylie, Payson opens up to her and tells Kaylie that she is angry with her, and seeing her able to compete is very hard. But she also tells her that she is the National Champion and she is the one who can beat Kellie Parker, and she should never doubt herself.

Like Ayla, I want to see Payson win Olympic gold. But given that might not happen and/or it is a very long way away, I am glad to see Kaylie step up and fill her shoes. All the actresses on this show are fantastic and I can’t say enough good things about this show. Peri Gilpin brings a level of TV experience that one doesn’t see often on ABC Family shows, and she plays Kim Keeler so realistically. Candace Cameron Bure and Susan Ward also are fantastic. I look forward to seeing what direction Summer (Cameron Bure) goes in now that she is filling in for Kim Keeler as gym manager.

I have already seen next week’s episode (I’ll post my advance review next week), and I can tell you it is great. I can’t wait to see more!

Make It Or Break it airs Monday nights at 9 pm on ABC Family.

As with every Biggest Loser screener, I don’t know who gets voted off (so don’t worry, no big spoilers). The show starts off with the teams meeting Ali. It is a Couples edition, but there are cousins, brothers, spouses and parent/children teams. Before their first challenge (which involves a lot of stationary bike riding and sweating), the teams are told that the first place finisher earns immunity, and the last two teams to finish are going to be sent home before even meeting the trainers. I was a bit shocked by this twist, but it’s not Biggest Loser if it’s not filled with ridiculous game changers.

After the challenge (and the “elimination”), the contestants meet the trainers. I am very excited to share that Bob and Jillian are training the teams together again. I loved this change last season. I always thought that Bob and Jillian having separate teams added an unnecessary element of competition to the show. The contestants have enough pressure on them to lose weight and compete with each other, that adding a trainer competition to the mix seems pointless. I am sure this means that half way through the season again some crazy contestant ala Tracy from Season 8 will split up the teams and make everyone unhappy, but for now, I will enjoy this training-together bliss.

I wasn’t sure about NBC’s decision to have the Biggest Loser return so soon after the previous season finale, but I love the show. It is a big success, so I suppose that is what’s behind their decision, but I will take any excuse to see those trainers kick some butt. I loved this season premiere. I thought the pairs were interesting and unique, and their weight loss journeys are sure to be fantastic to watch. I really enjoyed last season when the pairs were picked at the ranch, and none of them were related. That said, relationship pairs bring a whole new level of emotional strife, and I like watching them challenge and push each other in ways that strangers couldn’t. And looking at the contestants, there are a lot of parent/child pairs which will be fascinating so see the enabler and the result of the enabling and how each pair comes to terms with it.

I look forward to an amazing season, and I can’t wait to see more.

Here’s a look at the contestants:

• Twin Brothers: James and John, 30
• Cousins: Sam, 24 and Koli, 29 (if you remember Filipe and Sione, these contestants were inspired by them, and are also Tongan)
• Husband/Wife: Lance, 38 and Melissa, 39
• Mother/Daughter: Patti, 55 and Stephanie, 29
• Mother/Daughter: Cherita, 50 and Vicky, 22
• Mother/Daughter: Miggy, 48 and Migdalia, 28
• Mother/Son: Cheryl, 50 and Daris, 25
• Father/Son: O’Neal, 51 and SunShine, 24 (despite the names, I enjoy this pair a lot)
• Father/Daughter: Darrell, 46 and Andrea, 24
• Mother/Daughter: Sherry, 51 and Ashley, 27
• Mother/Son: Maria, 51 and Michael, 30

And here is a video preview of tonight’s premiere:

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Be sure to tune in tonight at 8 pm on NBC for the Biggest Loser Season 9 premiere!

Worst Cooks In America: The premise of this show is to literally take the worst cooks in America and make them chefs. The contestants have been nominated by their friends and families who probably had to eat their cooking at some point, and each contestant has their own reason for wanting to learn to cook. The show is hosted by two professional chefs: Anne Burrell and Beau MacMillan. For the first challenge, each contestant tries to impress the chefs with their dishes. What they don’t know is that Anne and Beau are looking for the worst dishes/contestants. They each get to choose the opposing team…in other words, Anne and Beau’s teams will be competing against each other, so each chef is trying to give the other one the worst contestants. Let me tell you, there are some pretty hideous dishes out there. Once they finally choose teams (red and blue), some people go home and the rest get to work in what Beau calls a cooking boot camp. Each chef teaches their team how to chop, cook vegetables and basically emulate a dish they cooked. Many contestants struggled, but many pulled through. I thought it was an interesting way to teach cooking–no real recipes, just teaching them techniques and how to cook certain things. It seemed to work well though.

I have to say I like Chef Beau much better than Chef Anne. Beau is very competitive (which I enjoy) but also not as harsh as Anne. So at this point, I am rooting for the blue team. I enjoyed this show a lot. If you like Food Network shows, this is a show for you to check out. I am interested to see how each contestant is able to become a good chef.

The ultimate outcome of the show (after the whole boot camp) is that the two contestants left standing will have to cook a three-course, restaurant quality meal for a panel of well respected food critics, but the critics will think that Anne and Beau are cooking for them. In other words, Anne and Beau are putting their reputation at stake for these contestants, so I hope they can teach them well. In addition, the winner gets 25 thousand dollars. The show is very unique. I’m sure there are many of us out there who would like to learn to cook (even if we aren’t the WORST cooks in America), and I found myself learning a few tidbits along the way.

Here’s a look at the contestants:

RED TEAM (Chef Anne Burrell)

• Eddie Chang (Jersey City, NJ): IT Project Manager
• Rachel Coleman (Brooklyn, NY): Marketing Website Editor
• Jennifer Cross (Philadelphia, PA): Waitress
• Hamed Hamad (North Hollywood, CA): Journalist and Fashion Consultant
• Rebecca Hooper (Sandy, UT): Salon Owner
• Kelly LoCascio (Scottsdale, AZ): Corporate Litigation Attorney

BLUE TEAM (Chef Beau MacMillan)

• Sophia Gettys (Aurora, CO): Stay-at-home Mom and Student
• Marque Hernandez (Brea, CA): Director of Clinical Operations
• Wilhelmenia Josephine (Aliso Viejo, CA): Stay-at-home Mom
• Susie Shoman (Georgetown, SC): Grants Administrator and Entrepreneur
• David Summey (Charlotte, NC): Salesman
• Jennifer Vecchio (Cumberland, RI): Dance Studio Owner

Be sure to tune in tomorrow night at 10 pm on the Food Network.

Super Chef Battle: An Iron Chef America Event

Iron Chef America is one of Food Network’s top shows. In a special edition of the show, they are going to have an incredible one-night event that premieres right before Worst Cooks in America. Mario Batali, Bobby Flay and Emeril Lagasse will be at the White House to take part in an amazing culinary competition. The event is called Super Chef Battle, and there will be a special guest appearance by First Lady Michelle Obama. The Chefs will get their challenge from White House Executive Chef Cristeta Comeford. The challenge is to create a meal for America using materials from The White House Kitchen Garden as their secret ingredients. The judges will be made up of chef and best-selling cookbook author Nigella Lawson, Olympic gold medalist Natalie Coughlin, and actress Jane Seymour.

If you like Iron Chef America, you will love this special event. Batali, Flay and Lagasse are some of America’s true top chefs and seeing them battle it out in the White House is great fun. It is also interesting to see the panel of judges, which is quite diverse. I just found myself wishing I could go to the White House garden and eat their food.

Be sure to tune in tomorrow night at 8pm on the Food Network, right before Worst Cooks In America.