too tired to post but wanted to make the top 50...

Whoot! So glad this thread is back. I've missed talking reality teevee with y'all.

What are Nigel's credentials for being a judge?

He produces the show, but other than that I don't know. I did miss Mia. I always like when she's on the show. I like Mary Murphy, but she kind of drives me crazy sometimes.

Believe it or not, Nigel started out as a dancer and choreographer. He even choreographed for The Muppet Show. I KNOW!

As far as the eliminations, I totally thought the Ricky boot was justified. That Argentine Tango with Ashley was criminal. Yes, part of it was that Alex's choreo sucked (as usual) but part of it was just that it was not well-danced. They were a poorly matched pair but other pairs have been uneven physical matches in the past (Benji and Donyelle spring to mind) and they have been able to make it work because one or both of them showed real strength as a partner. There was none of that in Ashley and Ricky's tango (and having her spin him around like a top didn't help things at all). On the other hand, Dominic and Sabra almost made that horrid Doriana routine work, and Dominic proved himself to be a more than capable partner while dancing way out of his comfort zone. I put Ricky's and Dominic's solo kind of on par (wasn't wild about either one) and I thought Cedric blew it out of the water. So, all things considered, I think Ricky was the right one to go home out of that bottom three. If there were any justice, though, Neil would've been the one going home, but he and Lauren didn't hit the bottom three even though their salsa was a travesty.

Overall, I think this year's crop is just yonks more talented than last year's Top 20, and I loved some of those dancers immensely. I think it really showed in Wade's top 20 routine. Everyone really stepped it up. There was not a lot of deadweight. I think every week is gonna be a tough elimination.

My only current reality-related thought: Too many cheftestants in the damn Top Chef kitchen. I have to wait for them to thin some of the herd before I return, I think. I just get confused when 15 or so people are milling about.

brenda -- I know! And she was supposed to be all about fresh, local ingredients. She totally deserved to go and I think Tommy wanted to go.

The food cart thing reminded me of two different challenges from Top Chef: season one's food cart and season 2's ice cream challenge.

And Bourdain on NFNS.

I'm liking the new crowd on Top Chef, and like Monique, I'll like it more when the herd has thinned out a bit. You don't get coverage of every chef, so the faces get a little lost in the crowd.

But enough about that. Did anyone else catch the first episode of Ice Road Truckers tonight? It's awesome. If you like Deadliest Catch, Ice Road Truckers is right up your alley. These guys are insane. I love the old salts, Alex and Hugh, and the young punks are entertaining too.

I'm loving this new crew of Top Chefs. Definitely agree that the level of cooking ability seems much higher overall this season.

feh. Am feeling very TAR right now, sitting att he airport where they apparently don't have a seat for me on the goddamn plane.

OKall better. On plane and out of here.

NFNS - At first I was surprised Columbe picked jarred and bagged stuff, but then she is trying to win a show on the network that has Sandra Lee. Her personality was really annoying so I'm glad she's gone. And Tommy looked miserable and it looked like he really had no idea what doing the show would entail in terms of being away from his family.

Top Chef - the contestants are on a higher level than the previous seasons. They did the casting a different way, even though they had open casting calls they still contacted the restaurants and establishments where the potentionals had worked before and asked about quality. They decided not to use home chefs or anyone not properly trained. Which I think makes sense.