Great Summer Shows

I'm so glad to see The Closer and Psych back for the summer. The Closer is different. They've cut out a lot of that private life stuff about Brenda and Fritz and have more of the case and the sqaud. I like that because the guys who make up Brenda's squad are really great. Seeing the same guys back kind of makes you feel safe and cozy but it's not very realistic. They seem to have more actions scenes and that's more fun for everybody. I'm just sorry we don't get to see Joel since they made us fall in love with that kitten last year. I'm wondering when they'll bring Brenda's parents back.

Psych is also different. The writers forgot these guys are supposed to be immature, wild and crazy. You also had the sense that no matter how dumb and goofy Shawn and Gus were to each other, they would always be best friends. This season has lost some of that. Are they trying to mature Shawn? What fun is that? I have a feeling contract talks resulted in more of Shawn's Dad and the Captain having more scenes but truth be told, they're kind of boring when they aren't with Shawn. I always thought Shawn's Dad was just grumpy with Shawn because he drove him a little nuts; hence the baldness. But now we see, he's just a grumpy old man. Too bad because Corbin Bernsen is so much better than that. Let's hope the show lightens up again and to all those people who say the show is unrealistic? Well, yeah. All of TV is unrealistic. You want realistic? Visit your own police station for a day.

True Beauty was down to the final four. The contestants had to be blackjack dealers. Nobody expected them to be great at it but they did expect them to suck up their mistakes, own them and get over it. Amy was nice enough to people during the teaching but did not hold it together during the actual playing and dealing. I thought I was the only oriental who couldn't do math. She sucks more than I do but at the same time, is very self conscious about it and wouldn't let it go that she sucked at dealing blackjack. She and Craig were put up for elimination. I couldn't believe she didn't pass the final hidden challenge which was to help a lady struggling with her luggage. I realized, Amy's not heartless, just kind of clueless. She didn't ignore the lady struggling with the luggage, she was just oblivious to it. In the end, Amy was given the boot. I guess witless isn't beautiful. I still have yet to see any of the contestants recognize Vanessa Minillo. Get over yourself girl. Nobody noticed you on Nick Lachey's arm.

I used to call America's Got Talent, America's Got Bad Taste. I have to rescind that. 12 acts showed their stuff in L.A. and I think America really did make the right choices. That black light defying gravity act is incredible and mindblowing, Future Funk is cute and fun, the singing sisters are really good and the 4th act...well I can't remember but I they were deserving as well. All I know is, the airband and hand whistler are out and that shows America's not accepting dreck and stupid. I can't wait to see what's next.

So You Think You Can Dance had yet another injured dancer. What's going on? In the first place, the competition is really tight since half of the dancers are the fan favorites from past seasons chosen to stay on the show. People can't afford to be hurt for even one week. Billy Bell landed on the bottom again. One think I've noticed, people like to see women dance with grace and the men dance with strength. Bell needs to pump some iron or something. In the end, the injured dancer, Ashley, was eliminated which is only fair.

Top Chef had the chefs cook with Maryland blue crabs. That was interesting. People had a lot of complaints of animal cruelty on the blog comments. I wanna say, "Get over it." Crabs are big water spiders. I don't see people killing spiders in a humane way. I kind of enjoyed seeing the different ways the chefs dispatched the creepy critters. In the end, the top 3 dishes had an Asian flavor. Ed won and got immunity. For the elimination challenge, the chefs had to go to a farm and use fresh ingredients and serve dishes family style. There was a lot of arguing over how to split the teams and dishes. The men shouted and postured while the women sat and rolled their eyes. For a show trying to emphasize politics, there was absolutely no democracy there. In the end, they decided to pair up the same way they had in the previous elimination challenge. I thought that was kind of dumb but okay. So 6 teams of 2 doing one dish each? The dishes should've been spectacular. In the end, Kenny finally won for his sweet and sour curried eggplant. Really? I thought it kind of looked like something in a baby's diaper. Tim was sent home for not having a clear vision in his dish. He started out to make a puree of vegetable and somehow backed out of it fearing the dish would get cold. It's easier to keep a puree warm than chopped up roasted vegetables. Whatever. His palate was always questionable anyway. Hopcraft better pull his finger out if he wants to stay in the competition. I love Eric Ripert as a judge. He's authoritative without sounding snooty and he's really sexy too.

Hell's Kitchen wasn't shown this week in order for some sports thing. Don't we have enough sports channels for that stuff? Whatever.

Finally, on The Next Food Network Star, the contestants had to first do an on camera presentation of an appetizer for a party. They each were given a certain theme and 3 mandatory ingredients. The guy with the cap finally pulled his finger out and showed a little personality. Others showed they had a bad day. It seems Aria has used up all her material. I'm wondering if the people are suffering from lack of sleep. I find in most reality shows, this is the case. For the elimination challenge, the chefs had to do an upscale version of an old dish. Aria somehow thought deepfried battered shrimp were like pigs in a blanket. Okay. Artie is my favorite but she completely lost part of her brain and had a bad week. I have never thought Brianna was very strong and she was sent home. I think Herb may be next. We'll see. Fogelsong is driving me crazy as a judge. She gives dumb critiques and for some odd reason, I don't think she has any credibility. Maybe she should straighten her hair and wear less makeup once. She seems floozyish. Tuschman is just too nice and he comes across as a nerdy wimp. I think they should utilize Giada DeLaurentis more. She's likeable and smart and makes everyone around her seem that way too.

It seems Project Runway is returning next week. Can't wait! See you next week.