Bi-Monthly Power Rankings- 20 Through 11

It is that time again, and with the Fourth Annual Poolies only a month away, the most recent installment of the Quiet Pool Bi-Monthly Television Power Rankings could not be any more relevant.  As always, these rankings take into account current success or failure, as well as those achievements or defeats that occurred well in the past.  We now move onto those ranked 20 through 11.

Rank. Show (Last Time, Highest Ranking) green=moving up, red=moving down

20. Top Chef (-, 18) Wednesdays on Bravo
It wasn't the best season that Top Chef recently finished, but you can never go wrong with sitting down to a nice and easy episode of this cooking classic.  If the unbelievably annoying Sarah hadn't made it to the final three, this reality competition might have made its way even further up the rankings.

19. Wilfred (16, 16) Thursdays on FX
This strange comedy returns to television screens in less than two months, premiering its second season on June 28.  Jason Gann and Elijah Wood were terrific in the first season, with the former putting forth one of my favorite individual performances of the year.

18. The River (HM, 18) Tuesdays on ABC
In all likelihood, with the below average ratings it continually brought in, The River was probably a single season endeavor.  It was a pretty good season though.  The eight episode run made it possible to keep things tight and not bore the audience at all, while the mystery always kept me guessing.

How long could this mockumentary go on with The River?

17. Survivor (14, 14) Wednesdays on CBS
While I still find it as the top reality show in the game, Survivor takes a bit of a drop due to the severe lack of talent on this year's cast.  Thanks to the fact that the women have taken control of the game, we are probably in for a mediocre end to the season, especially since the lone entertaining dude - Troyzan - is out the door.

16. Shameless (18, 16) Sundays on Showtime
Even though the show found a way to ruin my favorite first season character - Lip - Frank and Kevin made such great strides in season two that Shameless continues to climb up the Power Rankings.  Now that I'm thinking of it, Frank's ex, his mom, Sheila, and Ian all were absolutely worthless as well.  Maybe I didn't like this season as much as I thought I did.

15. Parenthood (15, 13) Tuesdays on NBC
I feel like it has been forever since Parenthood has been on the air, and I've wanted to slap Jabbar across the face.  Do I just have too much hate built up right now?  There ARE characters on these shows that I enjoy.  Adam, Max, and Joel are a fantastic trio on Parenthood.  If they could find a way to get Sam Jaeger more screen time, this show could be in contention of the Top Ten.

14. 30 Rock (17, 2) Thursdays on NBC
Maybe I am still on a high from the great live show last week, which introduced us all to this instant classic - "Alfie and Abner" - but I think 30 Rock is having itself a fine season.  If Tina Fey could only figure out to write her own character in a way that didn't make me want to throw up so much, this comedy could make it back to the top of the heap.



13. Boardwalk Empire (13, 12) Sundays on HBO
Nothing much to see here as Boardwalk won't return again until this fall.  The HBO drama concluded its season in fine fashion, not unlike the similarly loved Breaking Bad.  It's just too bad that neither can figure out a way to start its seasons the way they end them.

12. Mad Men (10, 3) Sundays on AMC
Mad Men is great and all, but a conversation I had with T-Time recently helped me understand why it will never be in the same league as the top dramas on television.  The stakes are just never as high, and nothing ever seems as important as what goes on during an episode of Justified or Game of Thrones.  That's not to say that you need murders to make a show fascinating, but it is just the scope of everything that is happening just seems a bit trivial.

11. The Vampire Diaries (11, 11) Thursdays on The CW
The CW's lone hit has continued its success this season.  To go along with non-stop action, unlimited twists and turns, and some great romance among its characters, The Vampire Diaries benefits from what I have discovered is the best looking cast on television.  Top to Bottom, male and female, TVD's cast is the best looking, and I'm not sure how close it is.

Bi-Monthly Power Rankings- Honorable Mentions

If you haven't noticed already, I have been extremely busy in the months of April and May. With the end of the baseball season, the end of the spring semester, and a couple of week-long pop-ins at my place, I have been beyond slow on the blog at times. That is no excuse to not put out a Bi-Monthly Power Rankings, though, so without further ado, here are the Quiet Pool Perspective Television Power Rankings for the month of May.

Show- (last time)...red= moving down, green= moving up

90210- (-) Mondays on The CW
Adrianna Tate-Duncan is absolutely killing it in the role of evil vixen on the season of the zip code drama.

The Borgias- (-) Sundays on Showtime
Jeremy Irons and the show in general may be a bit disappointing, but it is still worth a look.

Camelot- (-) Fridays on Starz
The re-imagination of the story of Arthur has been decent so far, if only for the work of Joseph Fiennes (or the dude from Flash Forward as I know him).

CMT's Next Superstar- (-) Fridays on CMT
Living in Music City this was a necessary watch for me, and if you like country music, it is for you too.

Game of Thrones- (-) Sundays on HBO
The only reason this isn't already in the top twenty is because there have only been three episodes. You will be sure to find it amongst the best come July.

Happy Endings- (-) Wednesdays on ABC
Pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoy Happy Endings. Of all the new sitcoms as of late, I have it only behind Perfect Couples.

The Killing- (-) Sundays on AMC
Zzzzzzzz...oh sorry I was sleeping. Seriously though, this is well directed and acted, but the writing has left something to be desired, and it couldn't be less exciting.

Men of a Certain Age- (-) Wednesdays on TNT
I just received word that I will be reviewing the Ray Romano series for TV Fanatic this summer, so there is my shameless plug of the week.

Top Chef- (19) Wednesdays on Bravo
Maybe I am getting Top Cheffed out. As one season leads right into the next, it is getting a little tiresome.

The Voice- (-) Tuesdays on NBC
The first episode was fantastic! The new twist on the singing competition show was greatly welcomed. Then the second episode produced much worse talent, and a new format that already seemed a bit played out.

Bi-Monthly Power Rankings- 20 Through 11

There has been a lot of tv going on as of late, and since I am as busy as ever, I am extremely far behind on plenty of shows. To be specific, as I write this intro on Saturday, I am 48 episodes behind on shows that I am currently watching. I have also quit on more than a couple shows in the past month, which if you know me, you realize is a difficult task in itself. At the beginning of February, I skipped the regularly scheduled Poolies Watch, but nothing was going to stop me from putting the Bi-Monthly Power Rankings into the Pool for the 10th straight edition. As always, the Quiet Pool Perspective Power Rankings take into account both current and past performance. The honorable mentions are not necessarily my next ten favorite shows, but rather those that deserve mentioning at this time. So without further ado, here are the March Bi-Monthly Power Rankings. Enjoy.

Rank. Show- (last time)...red=moving down, green=moving up

20. 30 Rock- (HM) Thursdays on NBC
Even without Tracy Morgan around, 30 Rock has continued its solid bounce back season.

19. Top Chef- (18) Wednesdays on Bravo
This All-Stars season has been fantastic. Most of the time it's difficult to find people to root for on this show, but between Mike, Richard, Dale, Angelo, Marcel, etc. I've been cheering for most of them along the way.

18. Lights Out- (-) Tuesdays on FX
Like its FX cousin Terriers, Lights Out is unlikely to see a second season. And like Terriers, it will be a shame. The boxing drama has been really good so far, with interesting stories and a leading man that is easy to cheer for.

17. Parks and Recreation- (19) Thursdays on NBC
Rob Lowe has continued his comedic genius throughout the start of the third season, but it has been Adam Scott coming into his own that has moved Parks and Rec up in the rankings. Although some were raving about him early on, he was being wasted as just a straight man. Scott playing the anxious, awkward former teen mayor has improved the show this season. The only down side of bringing in Lowe and Scott, is that Chris Pratt has had to take a bit of a back seat. Oh well.

16. Modern Family- (12) Wednesdays on ABC
Modern Fam's fall from grace continues as it falls from 12 to 16 this time around. I really think it is the case that many of these characters were extremely funny to begin with, but now we're so used to them, that it has kind of worn off. If you're relying on characters, and can't write funny story lines, you will run into trouble. Without Luke Dunphy this show would probably be out of the Top 20 right now.

15. Treme- (15) Sundays on HBO
It feels like forever since Treme has been on the air, but it returns with the premiere of Game of Thrones in April. It will be quite the two hour block of television on HBO.

14. The League- (17) Thursdays on FX
I really have no idea how both this and Always Sunny moved up so much in the past two months while off the air, but they did. Plenty of League alumni have been on tv recently, including Shiva, Rafi, and even Ruxin on Parks and Rec a couple weeks ago.

13. It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia- (16) Thursdays on FX
Until Always Sunny comes back on the air, try out the D.E.N.N.I.S. system the next time you go out on the town.

12. Boardwalk Empire- (14) Sundays on HBO
After winning many awards at the Golden Globes, SAG, and such, I have no doubt that Boardwalk Empire will also clean up at this summer's Emmy Awards. It was a very good first season, but I need more out of this show next season for it to crack the top ten.

11. Dexter- (11) Sundays on Showtime
It was a tough task to follow up the John Lithgow season, and although it wasn't quite as good, season five didn't disappoint. Julia Stiles had a great guest spot and Michael C. Hall was fantastic as always.

Bi-Monthly Power Rankings- 20 Through 11

Even though most prime time television has been on hold for the holidays, and I've been watching The Santa Clause 2 for most of December, that doesn't mean things don't change in the Quiet Pool Perspective's Bi-Monthly Power Rankings. My first ever post on this blog was the Pre-Season TV Power Rankings in September of 2007. Three series from the top ten on that list are currently in the top ten as we begin 2011. As always, the January edition of the Pool's Power Rankings take into account both past and current performance. I am not a prisoner of the moment, but I do take the current state of a series into account. Enjoy and feel free to disagree with me, as I know most of you do.

Rank. Show- (last time)...red=moving down, green=moving up

20. Californication- (19) Sundays on Showtime
It has been a long time since Hank Moody has graced us with his presence. In no way do I think the first few eps of this next season can live up to the great finale of season three, but the addition of some Rob Lowe will make it enjoyable enough to remain in the top twenty. Californication returns on Sunday, January 9 at 10:00 PM.

19. Parks and Recreation- (18) Thursdays on NBC

Andy and April on Parks and Rec

Has anything been more highly touted by critics lately than Parks and Rec? Well yes, Terriers has been, but the NBC comedy is a close second. After being shipped to the basement to put the terrible Outsourced on this fall, Parks and Rec comes back to a revamped NBC Thursday lineup this spring. Now in the fantastic time slot after The Office, Parks has no more excuses. Parks and Recreation returns on Thursday, January 20 at 9:30 PM.

18. Top Chef- (-) Wednesdays on Bravo
Just as the Just Desserts variety pulled Top Chef out of the Top 20, this season's All-Stars edition has propelled it back in. Even though I had previously seen only one season of the regular Top Chef (also Just Desserts and Masters in my repertoire), I can tell that most of these chefs have been some of the best of the past. Not only are they fantastic chefs, but the producers seemed to do a fantastic job picking some of the best personalities for All-Stars. Top Chef continues Wednesday, January 5 at 10:00 PM.

17. The League- (HM) Thursdays on FX
We have now gotten to the point where Jackie Boy and T-time can both breathe a sigh of relief, and get really angry. As the biggest The League fans I know, they will be happy it has finally made the Top 20, but also mad that it is not number one. Although the finale wasn't one of the show's finest half hours, Kevin's blow up after losing in the semifinals during the penultimate ep of the season was reason enough to bump it into the Top 20. The League will most likely return in the fall of 2011.

16. It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia- (14) Thursdays on FX
While I didn't enjoy it as much as its FX Thursday counterpart this season, It's Always Sunny stays ahead of The League based on previous excellence. There were definitely highlights from this sixth season, my favorite in Frank's acceptance of being gay, but for the most part it was hit or miss all the way through. It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia will most likely return in the fall of 2011.

15. Treme- (15) Sundays on HBO

Sonny in Houston on Treme

The New Orleans based drama by The Wire creator David Simon is set to return almost exactly a year from when it first premiered. Although the death of John Goodman's character makes me sad, I'm sure plenty of other dudes will step up in his absence. After recently checking out the first season of The Wire, I can say that these two series are both better-different. Treme returns in April of 2011.

14. Boardwalk Empire- (17) Sundays on HBO
The new series by Sopranos alum Terence Winter has been a favorite of critics all over the interwebs. In a show rich of story telling, the only thing that left me wanting more after the first season ended was in the characters. There was no one in the cast that I said, "I want to see more of this guy/gal." Buscemi is fine and Pitt is doing a great job as Jimmy Darmody, but there's no Raylan Givens type that begs you to come back for more. Boardwalk Empire will most likely return in the fall of 2011.

13. Justified- (13) Wednesdays on FX
Speaking of Raylan Givens...Timothy Olyphant's character on Justified is one of the best. He's a shoot-from-the-hip Kentucky cowboy that gets the job done. A show that really came into its own midway through its first season, I don't see Justified losing any momentum as we enter season two. With Walt Goggins getting promoted to series regular, there is no stopping it on its way to the top of the Power Rankings. Justified returns on Wednesday, February 9 at 10:00 PM.

12. Modern Family- (8) Wednesdays on ABC

Mitchell is molested by Cam's mom on Mod Fam

Early on in the second season of Modern Family, I was extremely worried it was in danger of not being funny at all in the near future. I'm glad I was wrong, because it has had some very good eps as of late. All in all though, this second season has not lived up to the fantastic first year run, and thus it falls again in the rankings. Modern Family returns on Wednesday, January 5 at 9:00 PM.

11. Dexter- (11) Sundays on Showtime
Dexter had a great fifth season. Critics can complain all they want about it being the same thing year after year, but I have two problems with that. One, it isn't exactly the same every time. Specifically, this season Dex had a great partner in crime in Julia Stiles. Two, I enjoy what that formula is. Just as many people enjoy the procedural formula of a Law and Order. I enjoy the season long formula that has become Dexter. Dexter will most likely return in the fall of 2011.

Bi-Monthly Power Rankings- 20 Through 11

Rick Moonen guest judges on Top Chef

Here we go with some of my favorite series currently on television. Here we have numbers 20 through 11 on the Quiet Pool Perspective's September Power Rankings. We have one new edition and a couple of big slippers. Enjoy.

Place. Show- (last time)...red=moving down, green=moving up

20. Top Chef- (HM) Wednesday on Bravo
This is just quality reality television. The contestants don't get as in depth a look as some of the other greats, so I haven't loved or hated any of them as much as Big Bro or Survivor peeps, but the challenges are great. Each week it's something new. Through two seasons of watching, I have never gotten mad at this show, which is the main reason it took American Idol's spot in the top 20.

19. Treme- (18) Sundays on HBO
Treme came out with a good first ten episodes last spring. I wasn't left that excited, but I enjoyed every hour that I watched. I'm looking forward to seeing if they introduce anyone new after the major character that we lost at the end of the first season.

18. Sonny With a Chance- (19) Sundays on Disney Channel
Without a doubt my current favorite on Disney. Demi Lovato has shot up the charts for best leading ladies on television. Her comedic moments are so much better this season. Add that to Sterling Knight and the improvement of fat Grady and you got yourself a ridiculously fun sitcom.

Hank Moody doin' work

17. Californication- (17) Sundays on Showtime
A pretty long hiatus for the David Duchovny dramedy. I'm looking forward to the appearance of Rob Lowe next season. There's no way he'll be as funny as in Parks and Rec, but he could just be in a groove right now.

16. Parks and Recreation- (16) Thursdays on NBC
Speaking of the NBC comedy...Parks won't be back until mid-season because they needed to leave room for the God awful looking Outsourced. The addition of Adam Scott and Rob Lowe have me extremely excited for its return.

15. Survivor- (14) Wednesdays on CBS
A couple of great seasons last year keep Survivor near the top. Can they continue this run? Will some people tune in just to see ex-Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson? I know I'm looking forward to seeing the hair get messed up in Nicaragua.

14. Justified- (15) Tuesdays on FX
Justified had a great first season, with the second half picking up steam to what was a fantastic finale. Timothy Olyphant, as Raylan Givens, has created one of my favorite characters on tv.

Russell with a beautiful vase

13. True Blood- (8) Sundays on HBO
And so we get to the biggest faller of the September Power Rankings. As Larry said to me a week or so ago, "they think that good tv is just the craziest sh*t you can think of." I mean I'm a fan of crazy, but to a certain point. When that's basically all you're giving me, I get fed up with it. My biggest problem with this season of True Blood is that every episode just runs together. I can't pick out a single episode by name, number or even event. Russell has been on and off for me, and in no way a decent replacement for Maryann as the big bad of the season.

12. The Office- (9) Thursdays on NBC
Another big dropped even though it hasn't been on since the last rankings. I'm having some residual bad feelings towards the last season of The Office. Maybe I didn't like it as much as I thought, or maybe it's because Alan Sepinwall and company repeatedly tell me that it was an awful year for the NBC comedy. Either way, this next season should be interesting as we watch to see who will take Steve Carell's place as the main man.

11. Mad Men- (13) Sundays on AMC
Mad Men is a show that can be extremely boring for some. As it was for me when I first started watching. Now whether it's because I'm writing about every episode, or it has just gotten significantly better, Mad Men is now so very interesting to me. There's something about writing about every little detail of a show that will cause you to either love it or hate it. In this case it is the former. The other thing is that after three and a half seasons, it's much easier to get involved in the goings on of these characters.

The Terry Fator Award- Male Reality Contestant

Named For: Terry Fator, winner of America's Got Talent Season Two
Awarded To: The best male reality competition contestant from
June 1, 2009 - May 31, 2010
Last Year's Winner: Dan Gheesling- Big Brother

Place. Contestant (Show) Points (My Vote)

10. Jet and Cord (Amazing Race) 2 points

9. Russell Kairouz (Big Brother) 4 points

8. Rick Moonen (Top Chef) 7 points

7. Nota (The Sing-Off) 9 points

6. Lee DeWyze (American Idol) 11 points

5. Jeff Schroeder (Big Brother/Amazing Race) 12 points (2nd)

4. 'Boston' Rob Mariano (Survivor) 13 points (3rd)

3. Susur Lee (Top Chef) 15 points (4th)

Runner-Up
2. 'Coach' Wade (Survivor) 15 points (1st)

and the Poolie goes to...
1. Russell Hantz (Survivor)
28 points (5th)

Here with his thoughts on Russell Hantz is Poolie voter, Jaydon...

Russell Hantz is a Survivor master who has been robbed of being the ultimate survivor twice in a row by a jury of worthless babies.

Russell Hantz is a buffoon who doesn’t realize that the social game counts just as much, if not more, than cunning your way to the end.

Which is it? They’re both true. I say who cares. Survivor is a broken game, maimed by petulant, self-obsessed dupes for jurors. May I quote the esteemed Pool Master General, “Congratulations to Sandra for becoming the first person to win Survivor twice. I don't know if that makes her the best player ever, but it certainly could be.”

*Sparty boot *

Christ on a stick, this is a travesty. I’ve seen both of Sandra’s seasons. She’d be lucky to crack a Top 20 list. Why do we watch this charade? Well, it’s often a great ride filled with excellent betrayals and blind sides. It’s still a twisty good time after 20 seasons. As the show that pretty much gave birth to reality TV, it has maintained a certain prestige, even in waning popularity, as one of the few reality competitions that can be taken seriously. Maybe we should stop taking it seriously. This is a show that rewards mediocrity and coat-tail riding in near equal step with worthy performances. If you look at past winners there are enough shameful ones to start feeling like maybe it isn’t worth it. But it is worth it if you can accept that it’s more about the journey than the winner. I’m sure that’s how Russell rationalizes the game.

Russell is undoubtedly a top 5 all-time Survivor competitor. This is especially noteworthy since he’s among the worst at the social game. He’s so good at everything else that despite this Achilles heel, he’s still an undeniable force. The fans have validated him twice by handing him the consolatory Player of the Season prize. In a 99 day stretch of his life he played 78 days of Survivor, 39 of which were against some of the best players the game has ever seen. He made it to the finals both times and won the final immunity challenge both times. For this he was rewarded with a total of 2 out of a possible 18 votes from the two juries. He was robbed clean during Samoa, but for this past All-star season, he was arguably outplayed by Parvati. She subverted his cocksure “I run this game” fantasy by successfully stringing him along and making independent strategic moves. Russell was so butt hurt about Parv keeping secrets from him that he turned on his own alliance, eviscerating any sort of jury advocacy for the finals. On the positive end, the Bald Hobbit continued to embarrass the Survivor producers with his Hidden Immunity Idol magnetism. He Jedi Mind Tricked Tyson to pretty much vote himself out of the game. He made JT look like Shortbus McGillicutty with the whole “female alliance” letter fiasco. The man was making moves and adapting to shifts in play on a dime (recall his brief alliance with Rupert and Colby before he booted them both in a row). This led to some serious jury alienation and the game was given to Sandra over the two actually worthy finalists. The Pool has shunned Russell, but he really doesn’t deserve it. He’s an excellent player with a formidable flaw. He also can be excused a little for playing back to back games. He deserves our recognition as having played the best game out of all male reality competitors this season. Maybe next All-star, he’ll have learned how to make it to the end without incurring the wrath of the entire jury. It’s that third time around where Russell will either prove himself worthy of the GOAT conversation or cement his legacy as a very skilled, fatally flawed, one-trick pony.

by Jonathan Stuart

Bi-Monthly Power Rankings- Honorable Mentions

Since many shows are on hiatus during the summer, and I am getting ready to leave for an LA vacation (writing this on Sunday), I'm only going to post a few notes on each series. The honorable mentions are some shows that I watch that don't currently make my top 20. They're not necessarily 21-30, but I enjoy them and others should think about checking them out. Without further ado, here are July's Quiet Pool Perspective Power Rankings.

Honorable Mentions

Show- (last time)...red=moving down, green=moving up

30 Rock- (12) Thursdays on NBC
The TGSers seem to really be falling out of good graces at the Pool as 30 Rock falls from 13th to honorable mention after a strangely bad season.

Eastbound and Down- (-) Sundays on HBO
The Danny McBride comedy finally has a second season premiere date. Kenny Powers will return to the screens, where he's always f'ing in, on September 26th on HBO.

Greek- (-) Mondays on ABC Family
Cappie and company are on what I believe will be a quick hiatus. Greek returns for a fourth and final installment before the end of the summer.

Hung- (-) Sundays on HBO
I'm not a big fan of the HBO quasi-comedy, but since I'm writing about it for TVFanatic.com, I figured I'd give it a quick plug here.

Jonas LA- (19) Sundays on Disney Channel
The reinvention for season two takes a dip in comedy but the corny drama is still really good.

Men of a Certain Age- (-) Mondays on TNT
Ray Romano is getting Emmy buzz for his dramatic role as Joe Tranelli, and deservedly so.

Mentalist, The- (16) Thursdays on CBS
The procedural is losing no steam in terms of ratings, but for personally I'd like to see a bit more serialization here.

Persons Unknown- (-) Mondays on NBC
The first three episodes have been decent to good. It's a nice summer thriller if not nearly on par with last season's Harper's Island.

Ricky Gervais Show, The- (-) Sundays on HBO
Probably just as good as a podcast, but the added animation puts it at the top of my animated series list. Can't beat Ricky's laugh.

Top Chef- (-) Wednesdays on Bravo
Quality reality competition currently airing this season from D.C.

Top Chef- This Banana Pudding Is Extra Runny Tonight

Spoiler alert...Below are some thoughts on last night's episode of Top Chef, 'Back to School'. So watch the ep, mix your dessert with a vegetable, and read what I had to say.

Timothy Dean- "Who got high and came up with this idea?"

As the cooking crew returned to the kitchen to take on their second quickfire challenge, they were informed they would be doing it in pairs. Each pair would don siamese aprons and use one hand a piece; hence Tim's crack about the producers doing drugs.

Angelo, the man who wants to win every single challenge, made it three straight as he teamed up with Tracey to make a fantastic sandwich. Tracey seems to be gay and have a crush on Angelo. Pretty strange, but I'll buy it for now.

So these two won immunity during the ensuing elimination challenge. I like how each quickfire produces a different reward for the following elimination. Sometimes immunity, sometimes first pick, sometimes choice of food, etc.

And then finally they got to the elimination of the week. 140 dollars for 50 school lunches. A tight budget for sure. The highlight was Kelly, Arnold, Tiffany and Lynne. These people fought the entire time, arguing over who was or wasn't getting credit for each dish, and then ended up winning the whole thing. As Kelly said, "Kids f*ckin' love tacos." Apparently she was right because her taco dish won her the overall prize of the week and took down Angelo's streak of three straight victories.

Speaking of Angelo...did he absolutely sabotage his group in the elimination? Peanut butter and a celery stick? Nice dish guy. You won three in a row and then came up with that? I'm all for gamesmanship, but if you think you're real nice, why not win every single time?

In the end it was Jacqueline going home for her terribly starchy and awfully unhealthy banana pudding. It was too bland and too sugary all at the same time. Tough to do, but disgusting bananas whipped up with two pounds of sugar can do that to you. I'll make a note for the next time a make a batch.

See ya next time at the judges table.

Top Chef- Desert the Dessert

Spoiler alert...Below are some thoughts on last night's season seven premier of Top Chef, 'What's Your Constituency?'. So watch the ep, pickle some beats, and read what I had to say.

Angelo- "I actually wanna be the first contestant to win every single challenge."

Even though a couple of my pals were fans of Top Chef and recommended it to me, it took last season's Top Chef Masters cooking for the cast of Modern Family to get me to watch an episode. After seeing Susur Lee and company cook for Cam and Manny, I was in for the long haul.

Tonight was my first viewing of the original Top Chef, and although it doesn't seem as appealing as the Masters edition, it still should live up to the hype I heard about it in the past. The structure is more or less the same in this version and many of the judges are the same that I got to see last spring. The one major difference...Padma. And it's a good difference.

Three dudes proved themselves to be tough competition as all three were in the top four of both the Quickfire and Elimination challenges this week. Ken and Kevin should prove to be here until the end based on their talent. Angelo won both the competitions and plans on winning all of the rest. His arrogance was prominent throughout the episode and should provide plenty of entertainment through the season.

So somebody had to go home first. It was tall, long-haired, hippy-looking John. For the first dish of the show he decided to make a little dessert. It was supposed to be a maple napoleon but according to the judges it had no maple taste. Go home pal. It's bad enough you made a dessert for your first dish, you didn't even get a maple taste in your maple dessert.

How about a new twist to Top Chef? If you are one of the first three out of the competition, you also have to get fired from your job in the real world. That would put a lot more pressure on all of the contestants. What do ya think?

See ya next time at the judges table.

Poolies Watch- Battle of the Network Stars Award

The Battle of the Network Stars Award is given each year to the best reality competition series of the season. So far the nominees look very similar to last year's inaugural Poolie Awards. My top three at the halfway mark are the same as in 08-09. Survivor was improved this season, thank to the likes of Russell Hantz, and it should have another surge in it this spring as CBS airs the Heroes vs. Villains version of the island competition. Idol is set to start next week and if replacing Paula with Ellen didn't work, I can see last year's champ losing its crown.

Front Runners
American Idol
Big Brother
Survivor

The Sing-Off is one of only two new shows receiving nominations at this point. It was only on for four two-hour episodes, but they were four fantastic ones. I'm sure it won't make a run at the title this year, but if NBC brings it back for a longer season, I wouldn't be surprised to see it high atop the voting in 10-11. Top Chef continues to be a show that gets a lot of love, but I have failed to view. With not enough viewers on the Poolies Committee, I don't see it vying for the top spot.

Second Tier
The Amazing Race
America’s Got Talent
The Sing-Off
Top Chef

I've never watched The Apprentice, but know Jaydon enjoys it. There are also around that enjoy to watch people dance...Not me, but others. I tried So You Think last summer and couldn't get past the first two weeks. Superstars was simple enough to take in during the summer, but the production and Jon Saunders were pretty brutal.

Just Because
Celebrity Apprentice
So You Think You Can Dance
The Superstars