Friday, February 11, 2011

Mr. Sunshine & The Unpoppables Premiere

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Reminder: I am no longer reviewing individual episodes of Kitchen Boss. However,
if you are looking for the recipes, all of them can be found here.

Commentaries this week include:The Unpoppables, Cake Boss, House, How I Met Your Mother, 19 Kids and Counting, Teen Mom 2, Mr. Sunshine, Minute to Win It, The Middle, Better with You, Hot in Cleveland, and Wipeout. I'm also instituting the "jump" feature on Fridays, since these posts tend to be long, and if you're just scrolling around, you might not be interested in scrolling forever, LoL.


Sunday:
The Simpsons (S22Exx): episode 13 is coming up. (superbowl was this week)

Family Guy (S09Exx): episode 10 is coming up. (superbowl was this week)

Monday:
The Unpoppables (S01E01 & S01E02):
I tried to say "no" to this one... really, I did. However, the commercials just got to me... it just looked SO intriguing! Now, I should preface this with the fact that I ADORE balloon creations. The first balloon animal I ever received was a pink poodle at my cousin's 3rd birthday. When we were in Seattle, we saw a clown on the corner with a backpack made of balloons, and I thought that was cool. A couple years ago, we were at a restaurant for my friend's birthday and they had a balloon sculptor who made her a really neat (and really tall!) customized balloon hat. So... I guess you could say that there was no use in fighting it, haha. Anyway... Addi is a balloon twister. Brian went from being a chef to being a balloon artist. Katie was into performance, and she loves balloons. "New Balloon Art" is the name of their company, and they had a ton of examples of their work in the opening minutes. The Firefighters' Museum in LA is the featured project. The sculpting starts with a sketch, they talk about who will do what... it's very Cake Boss in that way. 3,000 balloons in 12 shapes and sizes, 2 inflators, and 2 assistants. They build the firetruck on an aluminum frame. Brian's suggestion of adding black and grey to the fire to make it look smoky was cool. Brian not wanting to say anything bad about Katie was funny.  There's a few math jokes, LoL. haha about the "Incredible Hulk" firefighter, LoL. The more tired you are, the more balloons you pop, LoL. Katie's comparison to painting was amusing. Everyone works like all day and night and sleeps for only a couple hours. I wonder if this will continue with other projects. Transport was cool. Seeing the power struggle amongst the group was actually refreshingly realistic. I was blown away by how cool it turned out! I think that they stayed for the event, too... which was interesting. 260 is 2" wide, 350 is 3" wide. Fishing line in balloon slang is "monofilament." Balloon beads" are rolled on a pole... I didn't really understand the example, but it looked cool, LoL.

Now we're in Washington, DC for the opening of a new community cultural art center. "A thin layer of rubber between success and failure" was funny. The place was closed for four years and comes back to life, so they want to go for a phoenix, LoL. Brian is going to do a balloon lounge, Katie will do an interactive plant lady, and Addi will do a gigantic phoenix with a wingspan of 30 feet. 4,000 balloons needed in 10 shapes/sizes/colors, 3 inflators, a dress form. Katie showing how the balloon clothing is woven was cool. Brian's cube demonstration was cool. Brian is pro-math, Addi is anti-math. Watching the guys sit on the couch base was amazing. Addi going through multiple drafts for the bird's head was a good illustration of the process. The 3-foot hearts are HUGE. So far, the first two episodes have really displayed Katie as a drama queen. Addi only slept two hours. Brian fixing the eyeball for Addi was nice. I've never tried to blow up two balloons at the same time... what an intriguing concept. I like watching them go up the elevator with balloons, LoL. I kinda wanted to see how the plant lady got into the costume. The little balloon throw pillows were adorable. The phoenix was SO WEIRD... but it still looked cool.  .

Cake Boss (S04E02 & S04E03): Every year Carlo's does a fishing trip for the boys. Giant shark... cool concept. This cake could feed 300-400 people!!! Madeleine's birthday is coming up, and Buddy got her a moped scooter, hehe. Mauro's birthday is three days after hers, Killer bone-ear-piercing on Juan!! Lisa's four months pregnant at this point. Buddy was angry about what Joey was saying about the shark. Funny joke about Madeleine's nose. Buddy mixed in modeling chocolate with the fondant to make the surface look a little tougher. haha on Madeleine not even recognizing the figuring of Mauro! Ralf's mustache is extra-strange today. I couldn't get over how awesome the shark's mouth looked with the fish in the end! And I liked how Mauro rode side-saddle and looked scared on the scooter, LoL. Why wasn't Buddy's mom at Madeleine's birthday party?

Make-a-Wish week... Grace & Joey's daughter, Bartelina, had to have brain surgery to remove a tumor that caused seizures. She was a candidate for Make-a-Wish, but chose to give it up to someone else. Buddy looked so excited to be able to help out four people who choose to wish to be bakers. Hot air balloon was a cute idea. Camille from Florida has Evans Syndrome, forcing her to wear an oxygen cannula 24/7. Frankie and Buddy show her how to do cakes... the tie-dye fondant is always cute. She was somewhat familiar with Buddy's work, since she knew about the gel-icing-makes-water idea. The needle-and-thread test was funny, but I had heard about it before. Tyler Sue has Muckle-Wells, and they have fun making zebra stripes. The accents were a nice touch on that strange cake, LoL. Hayley has a seizure disorder, and she likes pranks... so they're gonna prank Anthony, LoL. Haunted House cake is a cool idea. That's a TON of pies to get hit with, LoL!! Then there's Lauren, a cancer survivor from an inoperable cancer - she's in remission. Buddy was impressed with her piping, LoL. He actually offered her a job when she's old enough! I LOVED the hot air balloon!   

House, M.D. (S07E11): "If you didn't want to be insulted, you wouldn't have invited me," haha. House actually in a labcoat and tie?? "we're looking for a disease that can last a decade and a half," hahahaha. "Jesus, which, granted, was originally a Jewish name," hahaha. haha on the hypochondria test. and double haha on House still being on the case anyway. "Addicts lie" coming from House was an excellent moment. A doctor on retainer? cool. hahahahahaha, love that they are doing anything short of sexual harassment to keep Masters busy. I hate the "do it or you're fired" thing. I can't believe what Masters was doing - telling Cuddy everything she could think of! House set up Masters! LOVE it!!! Now she can't tattle on him, or she's screwed!! Taub is a dummy. He brings everything upon himself. Masters reporting them anyway was RIDICULOUS! I like Candice Bergen as Cuddy's mom... it works well. I am really impressed that House is now keeping Masters around effectively to save Cuddy... if Masters keeps House in check, that's less work for Cuddy to do in saving his butt, haha.

How I Met Your Mother (S06E15): why would Marshall stay in Minneota to take care of his mom?? Don't all of the other brothers live there?? Why would Robin call Marshall's parents' house? Unless it's in such a remote area that they don't have good cell reception? Robin thought the oven was celsius... what?? We've seen her cook before... remember all those pies that one time? Or so was the plan, LoL. LOVED the story of how "Honey" got her name, haha. I laughed at Marshall's mom eavesdropping, LoL... twice! The disposable cell phone thing was hilarious, particularly because the night before this episode, I seriously dreamed that it would be ideal for Barney's character to do that sort of thing, LoL! Barney saying "the ushje" for "the usual" wasn't cool. I couldn't believe Marshall fell for the "hertz donut" hahaha. "we hate Ted now. Get on board or the sexting stops!" hahahahaha. I had a love/hate relationship with the grey sweater that Lily was wearing when Zoey showed up to question her hate. Loved how Marshall figured out that it was Honey on the phone, haha. Poor Barney with his dad situation. Zoey and the Captain are divorcing!! The Zoey/Zoseph thing was funny. Wasn't crazy about Marshall calling the neighbor, and overall, I thought the episode felt rushed.

19 Kids and Counting (S06E04 & S06E05): It totally looks like fall - we confirm it's November. Jackson is the leader of the littlest kids. Michelle is recording an audio book for 20 and Counting, which I think is interesting since I read it last year. Michelle did half of the book in four hours, and came back the next day, with Jim Bob, to finish up. Josie's fake pigtails on her headband bother me. The Duggars have two cats at the moment. Several dogs wander by from time to time. Most of the family heads to Little Rock to go to a fish fry.

I liked the "we may not have it all together, but together we have it all" piece in the kitchen... I'd never noticed it before. Jill is studying to take a midwifery test, so she stayed with Josie and that allowed Michelle to go with the family. Interesting that they have the bathroom setup so they can make the formula bottles right there... you lose out on being able to use that shower, tho! Having the chance to see how a lot of the Passion Play is put together was an interesting experience. Michelle did point out that there were sections that probably came alive for the older kids, but I would have liked to hear more about how their homeschool curriculum fit in here... were there going to be essay questions? Drawings? Something else related to education at all?

Tuesday:
Teen Mom 2 (S01E05): It's the start of classes for Kailyn (and Leah's friends), so probably late August.
Jenelle: her job was only for summer, and she doesn't have enough money to pay for tuition. Because she lost custody of her son, she needs her mom's information on her financial aid paperwork. This is the first time I think the mom was out of line... flipping out over giving Jenelle a tax form?!? Jenelle... your mom doesn't tell you she loves you because you're like the WORST daughter EVER. You ARE those things your mom calls you.
Kailyn: they're lying. Jo works full-time, Kailyn works part-time, we know that Jo has a savings account with at least a thousand dollars, and they say they can't pay for a babysitter? That sucks... Jo gets kicked out of the house so he won't let Kailyn stay there, either. I think it's responsible of Kailyn to realize that moving in with Jo is a more serious concern than just moving to Jersey.
Chelsea: Making a list of rules for Adam to follow in order to move in was somewhat of a good idea. They left the house unlocked?? Chelsea's eyeliner grosses me out... especially when she cries.
Leah: they're an hour away from her family now. Her parents are still kinda being tough on them. I thought it was funny that Leah leaves Corey alone with the babies for one day, and he calls and asks her to come home after like two hours, since the babies are crying and he doesn't know what to do.

Wednesday:
Mr. Sunshine (S01E01): The marketing girl he's sleeping with is friends with someone else he's slept with? The pilot is the guy's birthday? Really dull song & opening. The owner doesn't really look like the portrait of her. I like how dorky Roman is. A golf cart INDOORS?? I'm not sure Matthew Perry can get away with playing 40. Too much inter-office sex. Okay, Ben (Matthew Perry's character) is super-selfish. Roman's sad/mad sounds were funny. I love "Rainbow Connection," :). Hacking at the ice with axes?? The boss is perpetually high... interesting premise. Poor dropped child. and poor Roman for his mom not acknowledging his existence in public. So Ben's job is, in large part, saving his boss's butt. Eh. and apparently a larger theme of this show will be Ben learning to care. Loved that "elephant in the room" thing at the very end. How was it missing for that long??

Minute to Win It (S02E24 & S02E25): Another double-header. Lindsay & Michele... best friends who look a LOT alike, from Kansas. They look like they're 21-22, but apparently they're both 24. And I'm not going to keep up with their names... they just look too similar. Way too much back-story on this one... if they keep this up (last week's episodes were heavy on it, too), I may just stop watching.
Game 1: Baby Rattle: Shake two 2-liter bottles that are attached at the mouth, getting gumballs to go from one side to the other. You shake one in each hand. Done with 21 extra seconds.
Game 2: Egg Dance: you have an egg on a serving tray, and you carry that across the stage, and pick up another one in your other hand... then bring both to another part of the stage where you put them down. I liked the analogy of the egg being the food and the ground being the people, LoL. She was like a half-second too slow, and they try to fight it. Replay shows Guy was right, and they have to go again. She looks kinda upset that she has to go again. She moves much quicker this time, but at 10 seconds she gets nervous, same as last time. I thought one of the eggs was going to roll off after she let go, but they won! Guy looked at it and I think he realized that there's a slight flare to the tray or something, LoL.
Game 3: Blueprint Bonus: Extra Life: Blow Ball: 76 ping-pong balls are on a pizza pan... 73 red and 3 yellow. Blow off all of the yellow ones but none of the red. 12 seconds to go and she nails it.
Game 4: Spoon Tune: 12 water-filled glasses play "Old MacDonald had a Farm, E-I-E-I-O" when lined up correctly. I was getting a little concerned there. She gets it with 5 seconds to go.
Game 5: Blueprint Bonus: Extra 10 Seconds: Speed Eraser: Team Game... bounce 14 pencils into glasses. They get it with 32 seconds to go. One got way more of them than the other.
Game 6: Mega Bubble: blow a soap bubble and guide it across the stage and through a hoop using only your breath. I was impressed that she got it on the first bubble, 38 seconds remained!
****** The first episode ended before we saw the bubble go through the hoop, which was the start of the second episode. ******
Game 7: CD Dominoes: 20 plastic CD cases are lined up on a table (they have to go around a shot glass, so there is some sort of pattern needed) so that you can knock them around and the final one lands in a bucket on the floor. They get it at the buzzer.
Game 8: Frankenstein: Use your outstretched arms to pick up three yard sticks with batteries balanced on the ends - one at a time... then return all three at once to the starting platform. She picks them all up just fine, and delivers them with no hassle, finishing with 5 seconds to spare!
Game 9: Get Forked: Roll a quarter into the tines of a set-down fork 16 feet away. "too blessed to be stressed" is their little motto here. The last coin at the buzzer hit it, but didn't do what it needed to. On the second attempt, she hits it on the very last coin again, but it doesn't get between the tines, again. So, try #3, and they use the extra 10 seconds. If you can believe it, the last one AGAIN hit the fork, but AGAIN not in the right way. So, they lost. This one was a real nail-biter at the end!

The Middle (S02E14): Yeah, I caught this again. For some reason, I seem to have dinner at 8pm on Wednesdays, and this is on, haha. I thought that the beginning part about Mike hating the commercialization of Valentine's Day was overdone. LOVED Sue trying to figure out who the boy was by straight-up asking people, LoL. haha, dumpster behind Shoe Barn. Axl asking his mom to help pick out a gift for a girl was cute. Frankie bragging about being out with her son to random passers-by was funny. Mike telling Brick's crush's mom about Brick's crush kinda sucked. Frankie tricking Axl into hanging out again was funny/silly. Frankie half-forgetting that she was out with her son (and not a date) was dumb... and I saw it coming. Mike calling a kid a liar started way too much. Where was the teacher during the Valentine's party?? Sue dressing as a crayon to the Valentine's dance to jog the kid's memory was cute. I'm surprised it worked!

Better With You (S01E13): haha on the opener sharing gag. haha on Ben pretending he's going to the gym even though Maddie stopped paying for it half a year ago. heh... I guess we believe that Mia dyes her hair red now. Love that Maddie wants to re-write a report for no real reason now. haha, the men have a pact not to over-celebrate Valentine's Day... Vicki's birthday is now a 3-day festival, thanks to celebrating big early on! (I better not let my husband see this episode, LoL. we pretty much already celebrate an entire week for my birthday, LoL!). "Hello, you've reached the internet" had me roaring! Actually, Vicki thinking that the internet is run by robots is even funnier. Everyone talking on the phone was funny. Joel trying so hard to top everything was funny. I have lingerie remarkably similar to what Maddie showed Ben, LoL. 

Hot in Cleveland (S02E04): Joy seeing a fortune teller but acting like she's at a therapist, haha. Sneezed and a tooth came out? How horrifying! Psychics don't take Discover, haha. haha, only Melanie would worry about the legality of burning a pair of spanx. "obviously the only authentic psychics are in LA" hahaha. oooooohhhh... wrong girl! That sucks. Victoria being so shocked over who was chosen to play her daughter in a role was amusing. Melanie having to take off the spanx in a matter of life or death was funny. The spanx/thanks joke wasn't that great. Melanie then trying to say the age on her license was a typo was ridiculous. Elka's joke about Victoria playing Susan Lucci's mom was hilarious. "you gave one away, you deserve one back" regarding Joy and adoption, haha.

Thursday:
Wipeout (S04E06): Holiday hams, big balls, sweeper, yule log jammer. nothing super-cool happened. Onto the ski lift... holding onto a suspended handle, lifting yourself as you go around in a circle, avoiding the sweepers. Again, nothing interesting. The W-I-P-E-O-U-T board is next. Wipeout Zone features the bobsled launch, icy stairs, frostbite sweeper, and sinister snowflakes. The first kid is kinda cocky, and has a fall from the stairs. After that, he does pretty well until a painful twisty fall on the first snowflake. He finished with 10:26. The second guy falls from the stairs a minute in, tries them again, falls from the very top, and calls it quits just 2:08 in. Boy #3  He was incredibly amusing getting up the stairs, and just when I thought he had it, he fell. He falls on the same obstacle again. He ends up running out of time, and the cocky kid wins the money.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Off season/Coming Up:
The Secret Life of the American Teenager (season 3 continues March 28th at 8pm)
South Park (season 15 starts April 27th)
Melissa & Joey (some point in the Spring)
Futurama (Season 6 continues with episode 14 in the Spring)
Kate Plus Eight (not sure when season 2 episode 2 is)
Teen Mom (no idea)
16 and Pregnant (no idea)
Terra Nova (previewing in May; premiering in September)
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1 comment:

Bryon said...

I liked your synopsis of “The Unpoppables” because it was so accurate and it reminded me of some of the best moments. I assume it is on still but when I was watching the clips on dishonline.com http://bit.ly/dJzWgo I signed into my employee account to set my DVR for an episode and it said there were no upcoming episodes. I was very disappointed but when I searched online to see if it had been canceled I couldn’t find any info. I really liked it though and want to see another episode.