Posts from — August 2011

Dinner Date is back at it’s familiar timeslot 9.30 Tuesday after the briefest of flings in prime time. No Logies for Manu.

Brain Dead Dave is single handedly keeping the ratings going for Dinner Date, last night it easily won its time slot with over 770,000 viewers. Also in a funny exchange on Twitter. Someone tweeted me saying how they always loved reading the recaps on my blog the next day. I thinking it was about the other shows I recap tweeted back and said “Thanks”. Then I glanced at the previous tweets and saw they were talking about Dinner Date. I immediately  ’fessed up and said they were guest posts from BDD.

And again he has sent through a cracker – Over to you BDD:

We get the usual intro from Manu,seated in a flash restaurant. He may have had too many Cointreaus to stand up for this episode. He mumbled something about “Loff”,I think.

 Nick is 26 .He’s a fireman, outdoors type into surfing. Self confessed foodie,he reckons he’s passionate about and obsessed with food. Sounds like he’s been regurgitating a Ma$terchef script. Nick’s last relationship was five and a half years. As to it ending,Nick rolls out the old if you love something , you got to set it free-different paths and all that. He ‘s now been single for a year and is “ready for it” with room for someone else in his life. I didn’t think he was over it,personally.

 He looks to be a great package but his uncanny resemblance to Karl Stefanovic killed any hint of mojo this guy might have had for me for the whole program.

 Nick chooses three from five menus offered as usual on Dinner Date. They’re all good lookers.

 Sarah -First Date

 Missed her age( late 20′s maybe?) but she looks a gorgeous,knockout blonde with Phar Lap’s teeth. Multicoloured retro fantasy shawl- a bit Stevie Nicks. Sarah’s a chef and was in the Navy for 7 years. Says she’s very competitive and likes to win and she doesn’t want to be with someone who’s intimidated by what/who she is. She’s Clint Eastwood with tits,she is. Single for five years.

 Sarah’s main will be a grilled fillet steak and there’s pannacota with chilli on the the horizon. We see them both getting nerves as the Dinner Date approaches then the first ad break occurs.

 Nick brings Sarah a plant as a gift.( At this point he should say something like “this plant’s like me…it needs to be rooted”). Nick’s stoked that Sarah’s a chef. She’s happy that he’s a fireman and tells him that she’s just bought the pervy calendar.

 In a cardinal sin of interpersonal behaviour,Sarah forgets Nick’s name. It’s Karl Stefanovic,baby. They rip into the entree of tuna carpaccio and Nick regurgitates some Prestonisms to attest the quality of the baby coriander and the wasabi. He’s loving the food but not so comfortable about the prying into his love life. She’s very giggly as he is. He asks about her life and she likes “hanging out with friends dancing”.

 Nick and Sarah do seem to like each other. Nick follows her into the kitchen,throwing around compliments like confetti. Sarah says there’s some chemistry and she gives that a little helping hand by sexily leaning all over him like a seasoned up hyena to get at the pannacotta tray.

 Sarah’s friends would consider her “crazy,out there and exciting”,she says. Nick reckons his mates would say he was “genuine, enthusiastic and caring.”

Sweets are a big success and there’s a lot of laughing and byplay between the two. She’s a lot taller than him but.

 In a sensational Dinner Date first, Sarah rates Nick 10/10 while Nick reckons Sarah’s very special and has set a high benchmark for the other girls to reach.

 After an ad break,Manu returns ,garbling about Nick being a “Fairman” and cuisine superb but warning that Nick hasn’t met Charlotte yet.

 Second date Charlotte

 Charlotte is 25 yr old long haired brunette,she loves cooking and confesses to us she’s had her heart broken,wants to meet someone with similar values.

 Charlotte’s entree will be a double baked cheese souffle and she’s going the whole hog and baking the pastry from scratch.Worried that she forgot to grease the soufflle pan ,she recovers and is relieved that they’re managable.

 Nick’s getting anxious as the date approaches.When they meet ,they like each other but it’s all pretty uncomfortable. Nick’s worried that Charlotte’s not making eye contact and there’s an avalanche of uncomfortable conversation. Charlotte tells us that she’s freaking out about the food.

 No need to worry,Charlotte because the souffles turn out great and the atmosphere duly lightens. Still Charlotte tells Nick that she’s got band-aids on her heart. He ‘s happy that she’s finally making eye contact with him.

 The main is a duck salad with a vinaigrette dressing and the two swap some relationship history and Nick shows some sympathy for the ”douchebag” that has cheated Charlotte in a past romance. The duck is sensational he reckons.Charlotte concludes he’s a”good guy”.

 Charlotte’s dessert is some kind of tart I don’t catch the name of but it goes down a treat.Nick concludes that he’s had a wonderful night and ditto Charlotte who rates Nick an impressive 9/10.

Manu returns to praise Nick for two very successful dates.

Third date -Fleur

 Fleur’s 23 a music teacher and into extreme sports…we’ll soon find out that eating Fleur’s food is an extreme sport in itself.Suffice to say for this show,she’s very attractive and looks a little like Sigrid Thornton.

 She’s planned some traditional Dutch food fit for the kind of man she’s like. She’s been single 8 or 9 months and likes ambos ,fireys,police,you name it.Sounds like she’ll root anything in a uniform. She describes her food as ”hearty” and reckons she’s struck gold jagging a fireman.

 Now the entree is some kind of deep fried meatballs that have been soaked in a lot of vinegar.Sounds like “Battenballs” or something like it.

 Fleur asks what we’ve heard a few times on Dinner date now: ”If you’re so good looking,how come you’re single?”

Nick plays it back down the pitch with: ”I haven’t found the right person.’

 Fleur tells Nick she’s been hurt before but he’s now flat out trying not to spew the entree all over the kitchen table. He does a great job a of keeping the offensive ,vinegar soaked gruel down.

 This leads to a massively uncomfortable atmosphere in the room,which Fleur is lamely punctuating with bunny boiler giggling.

 Nick has to get through main course which is I think “Huttspot”( Dutch Rissoles In gravy). The plate is a huge serving and Nick emits a lot of nervous laughing before leaving most of it. He tells us out earshot that two are not connecting.

 However ,things lighten up with Fleur’s Dutch pancakes which have been an unlikely triumph. Nick loves them and the then Fleur treats him him to a private audition of the ubquitous Hallelujah from Leonard Cohen.

 Nick reckons the musical interlude it was sexy and left a lasting impression….. (Hallelujah that I’ll never eat a vinegar soaked meatball again) and lifted the night to a success. Fleur rates Nick 7/10.

 Manu chides Fleur for being a hard marker before letting his inner love rat out and expressing that he wished he was in Nick’s shoes and had to choose between “sree boodiful women”.

 Nick chose date no 2 , Charlotte to accompany him on a weekend on the NSW central coast. She’s not an outdoors type but gives it a go,impressing Nick. We seem cavorting in the waves and having a romantic walk on the beach before an enjoyable dinner.

 At the end Manu briefly winds it up ,before Nick says he’ll most likely see a friendship evolving,while Charlotte says she’ll wait and see what Nick decides.

Well the sensation for all the wrong reasons from The X Factor last night Andrea ‘Storm’ Kaden was actually fourteen when she auditioned for the show earlier this year. She turned fifteen last month.

In a previous blog post I queried whether she was actually that age as on a model website it said she was 17 years of age. That page has now been pulled down. Did her parents know about this? I suspect they did.

These parents seem to be fully complicit in Storm’s quest for fame and fortune and as they said they had spent $100,000′s dollars on her career. Maybe they are wanting to recoup some of their funds by allowing her to work at Hooters.

I find all this very disturbing. Even Miley Cyrus wasn’t this precocious at this age.

They seriously need to start protecting her daughter as there are vultures out there and they are circulating. Regular commenter Smauge nailed it when she tweeted me and said she reminded her of Mandy Smith. Mandy married Bill Wyman when she was 16 years of age. She also sent me this link to an article on Mandy who now says she was far too young and vulnerable at that age. Dear Mr and Mrs Kaden please read it.

Well Storm is certainly on her quest to finding fame, as today she is the name on everyones lips.

If you want to see her singing Fireworks by Kate Perry here she is singing it on her YouTube channel.

Also her claim of getting a LA Music award appears to have some validity as I found this on YouTube as well. She is 12 here.

Max Markson must be pissed off he is tied up with Celebrity Apprentice as I bet he would love to sign her up to his agency.

Farmer Wants A Wife has become a bit tarnished after this news in the Daily Telegraph which states the lady in red, Samantha has done some “glamour shots” for Zoo Magazine. Did she go on the show just to raise her own profile?

How the words glamour and Zoo Magazine go together is beyond me, however apparently she will appear in the magazine in a few weeks.

Is Andrea Kaden the Courtney Stodden of The X Factor? The alleged 14 year old is blonde, wants to be famous, and dresses far older than her years. However is she really 14?  A modelling website states she is 17 years old. Star Now website says she is 15, however this information may be old, and her Facebook Page says she is a runner at Hooters. Surely they would not let 14 year olds work at Hooters? I want to see a birth certificate – NOW.

Her parents say they have spent hundred’s of thousands on their daughter’s talent. However Storm (her potential porn name) as she is known doesn’t bother gibbering to camera about how singing and music is her life, she just wants fame and fortune.  Andrea also claims she  has an album on itunes which has had 100,000′s of hits. I would like to see proof of that as well.

Seriously Andrea could have saved her parents their retirement fund, by marrying a man four decades older then her. He only has to be moderately famous and she would become an international superstar overnight. A DD boob implant might help, but I am sure she has already contemplated that if she is working at Hooters.*

I can see a sex tape in her future if her career stalls. As reality TV lovers will know the Kim Kardashian sex tape launched her multi-millionaire reality career. For the record I can go to my grave without feeling the need to see it. However I can’t take the higher moral ground on this stuff, as I just read this story.

When Andrea/Storm mangled Katy Perry’s Fireworks, I thought it was a set up audition by producers, as they must have had to see some identification. However after her second rendition of a Paramour song I am not so sure, as she sang that quite well.

Natalie Bassingthwaite gushed and said you can win The X Factor. Newsflash to Natalie,  she has to get the all important female vote, and she has no chance.

In other auditions:

Lyrical Styles – You have to love a transformation story with one of the duet going from being a factory worker to potential international pop star in three months. And he did have talent. I thought he had a voice like Michael Jackson’s. His partner in singing crime was a good rapper as well. Let us hope a happy ending occurs for the likeable pair.

Medina Begic  was a petrified 14 year-old.  She sang Power of Love by Celine Dion. Big song when you have big nerves. She hit some big notes but she also missed a few.  However she got through to the boot camp. However she was better than Naomi Sequeria who was 16 who looked 12,  wearing the pink karate kid headband. Ronan called her pure raw talent. That was a nice way of putting it.

Max was a cutie at 14 from the Northern Beaches sang Mad World – again I thought his voice was all over the place. Maybe the judges can see through the nerves, because my ears are not feeling the love, he was through to bootcamp.

Liz Conde 14 sang Halo by Beyonce also got through on what was an OK rendition of the song. Mel B had looked bored throughout the song and then said how fantastic it was.

Dave McCallum who is 41 felt this was his moment.  He had the desperate vibe about him. He sang Closer to the Edge by 30 seconds to Mars. He reminded me of a more sane Altiyan, this was always going to go against him, particularly when he started doing some Altiyan type movements, particularly dancing around the judges table.

You could see the look on the judges faces that said “Oh not another ageing rocker”

Mel B nailed it when she said “I just felt you were singing for you and your ego”.

Ronan Keating called him out about having the lyrics on his hand. He also said “you are in your own bubble.”

He got a three nos. He looked devastated. But he did blow it. Also he the ripped jeans and pseudo mohawk was not a great look. The male equivalent of mutton spice. He was a bit of tool, however I did feel sorry for him.

Josh Brookes who is unemployed in Perth, sang Usher and he did a great job. He was already leading the rock star lifestyle bring two girls to the audition. We will be seeing more of him.

Pamela Cook was a cancer survivor and single mum.  She sang Because of You by Kelly Clarkson. Ronan said “You are an inspiration”. She has some strong bits, but she was out of tune in a bit of it as well. But being a cancer survivor she was through. Hopefully  she will improve as she is likeable, and there does not appear to be a lot of talent going through to the over 25 group.

*For new readers to the blog I have a policy of trying not bagging out people under 18 however in this case I have relaxed that policy tonight.

Not a lot to say tonight, however at Dutch Courage’s suggestion I have put a new poll up asking who is the most shaggable female in The Renovators. I have only included the ones that are left.

Next week out of curiousity I will put the most shaggable male up.

Tonight it was the panic room challenge and it was a courtyard. They had three hours to transform it. However they could pick one person to help them with the grunt work.

Jason picked Michael, Keenan picked his twin Luke, and Melissa picked Peter.

These three must be wondering when they will get a rest. I suppose it must be flattering to be asked, however it is a lot of work.

Melissa when with a morrocan type feel. She had a day bed and it did look very relaxing. Robyn Holt thought it was a dream like courtyard.

Brendan Moar who was judging tonight said it had a  sense of space and intimacy at the same time.

Robyn was critical of the daybed which  she thought was such a feature and said it should have been perfect.

Keenan’s enclosed his space off to make it feel like a real courtyard.

Brendan didn’t like the plywood retaining wall, nor the pot plants in pots. However Baz liked the square, circle, square, circle design of it . He thought it was clever.

The judges said Jason’s felt like a real court yard. Baz said if there was not a BBQ he would think it was indoors.

However it was deemed the worst design so was eliminated. As he was head renovator he had to hand over the keys. The best courtyard won and that was Keenan.

Jason was big in presence but personality wise he was a bit bland so he won’t be missed from the show that much.

Since it is over half way in the competition I will make my top six predictions.

Peter, Keenan, Michael, Luke, Natalia, and Suzanne.

It is always interesting to see who is cast in the US series of Dancing With The Stars, and the new season has cast up some interesting people.

This time Cher’s transgender child Chaz Bono is on the show.  She is now a guy after having a gender reassignment. She will be dancing with a female.

Other names are David Arquette, Ron Artest, Elisabetta Canalis, Kristin Cavallari, Nancy Grace, Rob Kardashian, Carson Kressley, Ricki Lake, J.R. Martinez, Chynna Phillips, and Hope Solo.

If the name Elisabetta Canalis sounds familiar, she is George Clooney’s ex.

Good news for Rachel Zoe fans as season four of The Rachel Zoe Project will commence on Arena TV on Wednesday 14 September at 8.30pm.

Stylist Rachel Zoe, is back and still pregnant. In real time she has now had the baby a boy they named Skylar. That sounds like a character from those Twilight films. Also as can be seen from the above picture he is fashion forward.

It will be interesting to see if she will be seen eating on screen, and how they handle the Starbucks product placement. Apart from the pregnancy story line, this season also sees her transitioning from stylist to fashion designer.

Fan favourite Brad has left also so it will be interesting which of her assistants steps up to the plate work wise and making the wise cracks to camera.

The Rachel Zoe Project has always been a good reality show out of the Bravo stable, with Rachel being shown as hard working, neurotic, but highly likeable.

Roger her husband with the flicky hair that does not move will continue to star in the show.

The Rachel Zoe Project – Season 4 – Arena TV – Wednesday night at 8.30pm from 14 September.

Sorry I  have been a bit lax with my Project Runway recaps, fortunately or unfortunately the free to air reality TV has been overwhelming over the past few months.

However I will make some quick comments about the final three.  It was no surprise that Johnny, Craig and Dylan made the final three as they have been consistently the stand out performers of the show. Johnny is a real talent who I think Craig is a tad jealous of.

He keeps on say Johnny is a favourite of the judges and the one to beat.

I was upset for Nerida that she choked so badly on her haute couture dress. I am sure her former teachers were also choking as she announced she did not know what haute couture was. Clearly not on the fashion school curriculum anymore. Dylan was criticised for recycling ideas but he got through.

For people thinking of going on a reality TV show, take note of Matcho Suba whose personality and european extravaganza mantra got him through to the top five.  His designs were appalling. He single handedly was trying to bring chiffon back into vogue. He only did two decent designs the whole time he was on the show. One was in the retro challenge when he was paired with Craig, and the other was the resort wear challenge.

Anyway he will be the only one remembers from Season Three Project Runway.

It was a good start to season two of The X Factor. Mel B certainly does what she is paid for – entertain and be forthright in her opinion, and Natalie Bassingthwaite seemed a little be cautious but as she gains more confidence she will be flying.

And of course Ronan Keating and Guy Sebastian are old hands at it now. I don’t think we saw the winner of this year’s X Factor tonight, however there was some talent.

For those who don’t know the format, people are competing in four different categories, under 25 girls, under 25 guys, groups and over 25 singers. If they get through the audition stage they are off to boot camp, where they will be whittled down further until there is a top 12 for the live shows.

First up was Andrew Wishart a 40 year old sales manager. The best thing about his audition was his kids looking on and they looked so proud. He sang Adele which I am sure there will be more versions of that song later in the week.

Guy thought “nothing about it was daggy”, and Ronan thought he could record his voice and put it on the radio tomorrow. So he was through. Will he make the live shows? I am not sure.

Tyla Bertoli 19  -  was previously offered a recording contract with a independent record label. It was unclear whether she did sign up for it. Her mother thought she was going to be famous. Personally I thought she was a bit screechy.

I agree with Ronan who said it was a “messy audition”. Mel B thought differently from the rest and thought she could be “the next X Factor”. Maybe the leopard print worked sublimely on her. Her backing her in probably got her Guy and Natalie’s vote to get her into the bootcamp rounds. If she gets through she may want to lose a little bit of the attitude. Voters will pick up on it.

Young Men Society  were one of the few groups that were shown tonight. They were really good they even had the dance moves down pat and were easily through to bootcamp.

March Petzle a 23 year old entrepeneur showed his pecs but his voice didn’t live up to his abdomen potential.

Malachy was also asked to take his shirt off by Mel B and Natalie, but that did not get him through to bootcamp.

I do agree with Mel B – this competition does need  a six pack. However it was a bit sexist, however every time Mel B was in shot her boobs did fill the camera. So guys you can’t complain.

Thankfully they did not ask 16 year old Reece to take his t-shirt off as that would have been pushing the boundaries of good taste and legality.

Reece is going to be this year’s heartthrob in the under 25 guys. He was good looking with a post-Bieber hair cut, and just gave off the cool vibe. And he could sing.

Mitchell Callaway 25 a concretor would be ok looking if he had not mutilated his body with all those tatts. The judges loved him but singing that Keith Urban song would not get me to pick up the phone and vote. Natalie thought Australia was going to go wild for him. I’ll pass.

Christina Parie who was 15 sang Taylor Swift. If this had been The Voice she would not have gotten through she was a pitchy as all get out. And if I was the asian girl in the hello Kitty shirt  who bounced around on stage and did not get through, I be bitter and twisted. She had the better voice.

The judges loved Christina’s look and put her through to boot camp. Early prediction  - a romance between her and Reece.

Upfront which were made up of two sisters were hilarious with their tongue in cheek banter. At first I thought they could not sing, but they did get stronger as the song went on. I would vote for them just for the entertainment value.

Emmanuel Kelly who everyone was waiting to see, therefore put in the end of the show, was inspiring. I am presuming his and his brother birth defects were due to the chemical warfare that occurred at the time in Iraq. His mother Moira Kelly who adopted them both is obviously an amazing woman.

Of course the judges loved him and he did do a lovely rendition of Imagine. It will be interesting to see if he gets to the live  shows. I must say I thought his brother was a good looking chap as well.

I don’t think Emmanuel appreciated being lifted up by his mum when he got off stage. It was like mum I am on camera and I am going to be a rock star put me down.

There were highlights tonight and it appears The X Factor is going to gain momentum this season which is a good thing for Seven and reality TV fans. Channel Seven have put a lot of money into this show and viewers need to show that high production values will be rewarded with people watching.

Just read this in the TV Week and thought I would share it:

Which reality star from a popular show has become too big for their boots? They may have appeared sweet as pie on camera, but insiders tell me this person, who made it into the final round, showcased some nasty diva antics that left a bitter taste in the cast and crew’s mouths.

Masterchef is the only show that is popping into my head. So either Alana, Michael or Kate.