Right after I work out, I decided that I like food way too much and that I’m going to indulge. Story of my life. Of course, I also like to cook and honestly, if my mom wasn’t so territorial about her kitchen, I would’ve done a lot more cooking at home. My love of cooking and food shows has not diminished by that. Even though it gives me major food cravings, I really enjoy watching those shows because I can empathize with the sensory experience that the people on the show must be having.

Instead of picking a more well-known, established cooking show, I decided to take a risk and go with CBS’s “The Taste.” “The Taste” is a show in which anyone who thinks that he or she can cook something to impress the four chefs on the judging panel with one spoonful, or really, a taste of whatever they are making. This includes everyone from home cooks to professional chefs to anyone in between.

This episode was the second one of the season, and the premise was that the judges are trying to pick four cooks for each of their teams. Coming in, some of the judges had already picked people, presumably from the premier, and now, they are just trying to fill up the remaining slots.

Overall, “The Taste” was extremely unoriginal, very much modeled after “The Voice,” except with spoons and food. Although there is supposed to be a fair chance for everyone, the judges leaned heavily towards professionals. To be fair, these people are in the industry, so they obviously knew what they were doing, but it would have been nice to see more than the occasional amateur being accepted. Otherwise, it is just too biased, and the so-called “equal opportunity” that was more present in “The Voice” (looks didn’t interfere with your singing), was noticeably absent.

There seems to be a rivalry going on between Malarkey and Ludo in terms of competing for team members, but like everything else in the show, it seems forced. The judges have very particular tastes, and while that is fine, it would be much more refreshing for them to take on someone against “their type,” so to speak.

As the biggest name on the panel, Anthony Bourdain was quite a disappointment, coming off as a vegetarian-despising, vegan-hater, and a person who doesn’t seem to be half as into the game as Ludo and Malarkey. Ginella, the female judge, was beautiful, but like Bourdain, she comes off as flat and boring. Even her British accent wasn’t enough to save her, and even though she was the only female judge, she did not add much in terms of that or even her experience. Perhaps it is too early to tell. Maybe as the season goes on, the viewer will be able to warm up more to the judges.

Overall, this show has not been appealing enough to keep viewers reeled in even though it is so early in the season. The only redeeming quality is the curiosity of what the dishes will be and the judges reactions to them. The samples are sometimes quite amazing, and considering the one-hour time period, those are commendable. However, it seems that desserts are generally unacceptable, and savory dishes tend to dominate, which is rather unfair because desserts can certainly be culinary works of art and definitely a high-end gastronomic experience.

After one taste, I have had enough. “The Taste” was not appetizing and honestly, my face looked very much like this at the end. If I was to continue to watch it, it would be for the contestants and out of curiosity about the food due to my culinary interest, but since I don’t have to, I would not recommend this to a viewer looking for someone of this genre. Perhaps next week’s fare will improve.

As someone who is usually rather unaffected by the horror genre, I always wonder what my “scare limit” would be. Which movie or television show will finally give me chills up my spine and goosebumps on my arms? I was thinking that The Walking Dead might do that, since it has been branded as an acclaimed horror show.

The Walking Dead is a show set in a dystopic era after a zombie epidemic ravages the human population. The main protagonist, County Sheriff Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) finds himself utterly alone after waking up from a coma. This show tells the story of the weeks and months that follow after the apocalypse, highlighting the personal struggles of Rick as well as other members of the supporting cast.

In the mid-season premiere, two brothers, Merle and Daryl Dixon are forced to fight for their lives in the town of Woodbury. Daryl is part of a group led by Rick consisting of Hershel, Carl, Maggie, Carol and Glenn. Michonne is there as well, but from what it seems, only temporarily.

This episode seemed to appeal to pathos, focusing more on the relationships among all of the characters. There was quite a bit of dialogue and not so much action, although the little action that was there helped develop the story. I guess the episode that I stumbled upon just happened to be rather uncharacteristic of the show as a whole.

I thought that the actors did a good job with the portrayals of their characters. It wasn’t shallow or fake. Each character showed a lot of depth and investment in each scene through the timing of the dialogue, the gestures and everything that comprises acting.

Obviously, the make-up and sets were, considering how compellingly real they were. The zombies were gruesomely realistic and they did not hold back on showing bloody scenes.

One scene I found notable was the suspenseful moment of when the two of the visitors of the prison were contemplating killing Carl, the little boy (Rick’s son) and Carol. The other two were arguing against it and trying to stop them. It reached to almost a breaking point of when the two were just about to make their move. Being held in that moment was rather nerve-wracking because of the mixed tensions of not knowing the outcome and in my case, rooting for Carl.

Since I probably watched an oddball episode, I will be sure to check this out again in the future and see it as a more “scarier,” action-based time. Otherwise, a good show worth watching.

After seeing this show win Emmys for three years in a row among multiple other awards, I knew I had to check it out at some point. Besides, this fulfilled the “comedy” genre on Hulu, so it’s another foray into television diversity.

“Modern Family” features the storylines of three different families, with the other two from the patriarch Jay Pritchett, played by Ed O’Neill, who is married to Gloria, a much-younger Colombian woman played by the sexy Sophia Vergara. Their immediate family includes Gloria’s fourteen-year-old son Manny from a previous relationship (Rico Rodriguez) and the baby they decided to have together, Fulgencio.

Jay’s daughter Claire, played by Julie Bowen, is a homemaker married to Phil, played by Ty Burrell, a real-estate agent. They have three children: Haley (Sarah Hyland), the oldest who is a teenager, Alex (Ariel Winter), the middle kid in middle school and Luke (Nolan Gould), a preteen just starting in middle school.

Jay’s son Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) is a lawyer who is living with his longtime partner Cameron (Eric Stonestreet). They have adopted a Vietnamese baby, Lily (Aubrey Anderson-Emmons), who grows up to be quite the outspoken sharp-witted toddler.

This episode features Jay and Gloria’s parenting issues with Manny as he ventures into the world of romance, Luke’s first date, Claire’s issues with her kids, Phil’s dinner/”not a date,” and Mitchell and Cameron’s wedding woes with their friend Sal (guest star Elizabeth Banks). Right at the beginning it, starts off with drama with Sal announcing her wedding after three months with a guy.

This shows slaps you in the face right away with some real-world issues like the legalization of gay marriage. However, it’s done in such a humorous way, with witty one-liners peppered throughout the show that you’re laughing at the ridiculous humor of some of the events. The writing is extremely intelligent and effective, and the actors’ timing and delivery really possessed the right balance of realism and satire.

The mockumentary style is extremely attractive, especially in the beginning with the dichotomy of the gay couple’s real views and their “public” stance to Sal. It also gives insight into different characters’ personalities and opinions, helping the viewers connect and become attached to the characters.

Each of the actors had various opportunities to shine, with great lines delivered stylistically by all of them. Of course, Vergara was definitely a standout, but I thought the person who stole the show was Lily, played by Anderson-Emmons. Her lines at the end were absolutely jaw-droppingly offensive and hilarious, and she spat them out with great equanimity. She’s going to be a great actress someday.

This was probably the best show I’ve watched so far. It was entertaining, humorous, intelligent, well-written, relatable and overall high-quality. “Modern Family” is definitely eponymous, dealing with current issues and non-traditional family structures in this crazy, 21st-century world. Go watch it. Now. That is all.

Memorable lines:

Cameron (reassuring Sal it’s okay for her to get married): “What kind of people would we be if we denied you or anyone the right to marry?”
Mitchell: “Hashtag politics.”

Sal (after making out with a random bartender): “What the hell got into me?”
Cameron: “Besides the bartender’s tongue?”

Cameron: “You know what, Mitchell, forgive me if my Missouri is showing, but what she [Sal] is doing is not marriage. It’s a mockery of marriage. It’s mockerriage.”

Phil (barging into Luke’s room while he’s on his computer): “I knew it! What are you hiding?”
Luke: “Porn?”
Phil: “Don’t lie to me!”
Luke: “Fine. I’m trying to send a message to a girl on Facebook, but she’s so out of my league.”

Jay (on Gloria breast feeding in front of people): “What’s the matter with you? You don’t do that in front of strangers. At least throw a blanket over them.”
Gloria: “I am not ashamed.”
Jay: “Obviously. They’re out in front of Manny, at the club, at Claire’s dinner last week. Phil almost ate a candle!”

#ModernFamily

A couple of days ago, I read on the news that a husband-and-wife team, Mark Burnett (“The Voice,” “The Apprentice,” “Survivor”) and Roma Downey (“Touched By an Angel,” 1994-2003) was producing a 10-part miniseries called “The Bible” for the History Channel.

Their vision is very ambitious, spanning all the way from the book of Genesis through the New Testament into Revelations, culminating with the finale on Easter Sunday. Every Sunday, beginning on March 3rd, there will be a two-hour program on the History Channel starting at 8 pm. It will be rerun on Lifetime on Mondays and lots of supporting material are currently being sold on their website.

Since I was home for Spring Break, I decided to watch TV in front of a physical television screen. Novel, I know, but the TV I have been watching so far has been with headphones in front of my laptop, primarily in bed. Being able to lie down on a comfy couch wrapped in my zebra-print snuggie and watching surround-sound TV with my family feeling replete after an authentic Chinese meal was a real treat. That’s right, people. Be jealous.

Because there has been so much buzz about this show, and my family expressed interest in watching it, I decided to join them. Although this show is about the Bible, it does not overtly sermonize, but is directed more towards the general public. It takes a humanistic, dramatic approach with some of the most exciting stories, beginning with the recounting of story of The Creation, which took place on Noah’s ark during a stormy night, which was an interesting yet effective juxtaposition. The premiere of “The Bible” spanned from the book of Genesis to the spies infiltrating Jericho in the book of Joshua.

From a purely critical perspective, the show was well-produced, with tantalizing special effects and gorgeous sweeping views of the scenery. It was jam-packed with drama, quickly moving from one emotional scene to the next. The acting was well-done, really highlighting the most relatable aspects of the stories, making some of these larger-than-life characters human.

As said before, the show definitely does not preach directly to the audience. However, the style of portrayal and dialogue definitely highlighted a more conservative stance in terms of certain scenes.

For example, very little nudity is shown in the sex scenes and romantic displays of affection were minimal in terms of Sarah and Abraham’s relationship. Then again, it can be argued that none of that was needed since the story was more important and that this was for the History Channel, thus making it a more family-friendly affair. However, the artistic license would definitely be much more liberal if it was produced by different people for a different network.

For someone who is familiar with biblical text, the dialogue primarily featured the characters’ faith in God, and could been seen as Christian-focused. However, that really depends on the bias and background of the viewer, and really, this show could just be viewed for academic study and/or entertainment.

One caution for families with watching this show is that the fight scenes are quite brutal, with quite a bit of blood and violence shown. However, that really brings some of the events described in the Bible with otherwise little detail to life.

One subtlety I thought was really well done was when Sarah asked Abraham to sleep with her maidservant, Hagar in order to continue his line of descendants. After the deed was done, not much happened action-wise, but one could feel a shift in the relationship between Sarah and Abraham. A sort of coldness and distance settled in, even though Sarah asked him to do what he did. This singular scene was a pivotal moment in the timeline of their relationship, and showed a sort of loss of innocence and trust that was never really regained. This was very well done in terms of the acting and directorial choices of the show.

What was extremely moving was the pathos displayed by the actors depicting Abraham, Sarah and their son Isaac, especially with the suspense of the sacrificial scene of Isaac on Mount Moriah. Even though I knew what the outcome was, that scene really gripped me with fear, given the creative licensing that already took place.

The only criticism of quality is of some of the special effects and CGI. This is surely not expected to be Avatar-quality CGI, given its budget, but some parts were noticeably green-screened and/or computer generated. However, those are rather minute details and the other positive aspects of the show will keep the viewer busy.

All in all, I am glad I was able to watch this premiere. It was a high-quality show, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone, not just those interested in religion. The Bible is not often studied as a purely academic text prior to college, and although this show may have some religious undertones, it was designed to appeal to the general public, not just Christians. If anything, this show is accurate and can be educational yet entertaining.

One of the genres presented on Hulu was News and Information, which was rather misleading considering what was offered. Most of the “news shows” focused on entertainment and popular culture, consisted of the hosts’ opinions and/or were more about the guests’ anecdotes than “hard news.” However, that isn’t always a negative thing,  depending on what the viewer is looking for.

Jimmy Kimmel Live is a late-night talk show airing on ABC at 11:35 pm on weeknights, featuring host Jimmy Kimmel along with different celebrity guests and musical groups/artists every night. Since my blog is due today, I decided to watch last night’s episode, as it was available on Hulu.

Last night’s episode featured Chef Gordon Ramsay from Hell’s Kitchen, Stanley Tucci, who’s promoting his recent film, Jack and the Giant Slayer, and Australian band Gold Fields. Tucci’s other notable roles include Caesar Flickerman in The Hunger Games, and the eerily calm killer in The Lovely Bones, which he was nominated for numerous awards, including an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

The show began with jazz-/big-band-style music, very much like SNL and other late-night comedy shows and/or talk shows. Kimmel delivered a monologue highlighting interesting, funny and/or weird recent news, including a man who’s adult film collection was stolen. Apparently, he had a whole drawer filled with the DVDs, and after getting it appraised by a certain “dealer,” the collection was worth around $7,000-$7,500.

Of course, it turns out that his fiance ended up reporting it to the police, but the combination of the subject matter, the awkwardness of the whole situation and how the couple (more the guy, Earlie Johnson) are completely cool with talking about how the videos affects their lives (she’s completely fine with it, by the way, and he says it’s beneficial to their relationship).

This would definitely be filed under “weird news,” but it was actually a blend of all three types of “news” shown. It definitely interesting to be able to hear (at least when their speech could be heard) the couples’ perspective on the whole situation and watch them get grilled by Kimmel in front of millions of people.

Moving on, Chef Gordon Ramsay was pretty cool, and Kimmel did a good job of asking the right questions to obtaining interesting stories out of Ramsay. As Ramsay was quite the potty mouth, there were many bleeps in this interview. His stories were very entertaining, and the bit about Hell’s Kitchen deftly promoted Ramsay’s show while adding humor to Kimmel’s.

After Ramsay, came Tucci, who talked mainly about he and his family’s cookbook from 13 years ago. He is currently in the process of writing his own cookbook and wrapping up filming for the second installment of the Hunger Games series, Catching Fire.

Concluding with Gold Fields, performing “Dark Again” live. Their sound was cool, but I feel like either the acoustics were not great or they didn’t perform well, the instrumentals overpowered the oft-soft vocals. Upon listening to the music video (where it’s been balanced and edited), it was better, but the live performance was rather mediocre. The audience seemed to be having fun, though, so they probably did a good job. Then again, it’s difficult to do a live performance, especially if acoustics aren’t too good.

I really enjoyed watching this show; the humor just kept on going, and there were very few times that I wasn’t finding something funny. Personally, I wish it included more political satire, not just entertainment/pop culture satire, to make it more intelligent, but now, I understand why it is so popular.

Over the weekend, I took my first dive into Korean drama. It was definitely a dive…for my face. As I was watching the show unfold, I was struggling to continue on because of the lack of quality in the direction, the poorly-translated subtitles and just the overall cliched character of the show.

Since I knew very little about Korean dramas, I decided to pick the one that was at the top of the page because it was “recommended.” The show is called “I Miss You,” which I thought was kind of a strange name. It was probably translated from it’s original Korean name. When I Googled this show to obtain some background information on it, there was not a Wikipedia page (gasp!). Just kidding, I know that not everything is on Wikipedia, but I’m guessing that this show has not become popular enough with American viewers to garner the attention of someone who would actually be willing to write a whole page on it.

The premise of the show is that the heroine Soo-Yeon, played by Korean actress Kim So-Hyun, fell in love with a guy who protected her from bullies during high school because her father is a murderer. The guy, Jung-Woo, played by Korean actor Yeo Jin-Ku, and Soo-Yeon become separated due to unexpected circumstances.

Later as adults, Soo-Yeon and Jung-Woo, played by Yoon Eun-Hye and Park Yoo-Chun, respectively, meet as part of their destiny. Soo-Yeon is now a fashion designer and Jung-Woo is now a detective. Jung-Woo has never forgotten Soo-Yeon after all of these years, but Soo-Yeon now has a new lover in the form of Hyung-Joon, played by Yoo Seung-Ho. There is a lot of drama that happens over the course of the season between these three main characters, as well as the supporting characters.

The beginning was most definitely a doozy, with cheesy music juxtaposed with melodramatic scenes. For the first-time viewer, the ridiculousness of is practically laughable, detracting from the credibility of the show. To do my duty as a critic, I continued watching, but was rather reluctant to do so. The show was already beginning to bore me, but hey, maybe it’ll get better.

The actors did show quite a range of emotion in the scenes, but the general tone of cheesiness was already set, which made it difficult to take them seriously. After about ten minutes in, I really could not continue watching. First of all, I had lots of other work to do and I am tired of wasting my time on bad television. 2nd, I’m sorry for failing to do my duty as a critic, but I just couldn’t get through the episode.

Perhaps I picked a “bad” Korean drama, and not the good-quality ones that my friends seem to enjoy. However, this show has really soured my experience with this genre and I will be very hesitant to try again.

After some science fiction and period drama, it was time to get real with television. With the plethora of reality TV shows ranging from insipid to truly inspiring, it was rather difficult to choose one, especially since I have been getting suggestions to watch “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo,” one of “The Real Housewives” series and perhaps indulge in some Kardashian family drama. Oh, not to mention “Jersey Shore” and its spin-offs, too. I have decided to reject all of them because they do not really benefit anyone, not even the people participating the shows (well, except for the financial aspect). Vicariously living through these people only makes viewers ungrateful for what they have and get caught up in a manufactured reality that is not how life is. I looked on Hulu in the Reality and Game Shows genre, and The Biggest Loser was the featured under “popular shows.” Also, some of my friends in high school had been saying how it’s really good during class, but I never really watched much reality TV then.

“The Biggest Loser” is a reality show focused on helping obese and morbidly obese people lose weight. The contestants are placed in a ranch with almost every type of workout equipment imaginable, teams of medical professionals and nutritionists to monitor their health and plan their diets, and three professional trainers who help develop and motivate them. Each trainer has a team of contestants and the teams are pitted against one another based on the percentage of weight loss experienced by the total team. Usually, there is a minimum or “red line”, and whoever does not reach that red line is sent home from the ranch. Of course, most of the sent-home contestants usually lose some weight by the season finale, but that will be less monitored and therefore, less easily done. Contestants are shown exercising and completing exercise-based challenges that fuel the competition between teams. Often, there is usually psychological issues that often crop up  because those are mainly the reasons why they became obese in the first place.

This season, “The Biggest Loser” is focusing on tackling childhood obesity, and three children are featured on the show, but they do not actually compete. Instead, they get the benefit of counseling from a pediatrician about nutrition and slowly, they will change their habits to live a healthier lifestyle.

As this type of television is not completely serial, the viewer can jump quickly into the story and get caught up with the gist of it and the general storylines of the participants’ lives. “The Biggest Loser” does a wonderful job of capturing a balance of emotion, suspense and inspiration into one episode. However, some of the scenes and the suspense of the contests were rather exploitative, especially with the ridiculous number switching of the scale at the weigh-in.

While placing the contestants in a room filled with junk food was educational and probably drove ratings up, what about the contestants? How is that useful to them in any way besides taking away from their workout time? It is small wonder that the Blue Team did not lose much weight overall even if they worked out after their four-hour sessions. Try as they might, they were already sluggish from spending time in the room, and no amount of attitude is going to get them as ready as they would be without the room.

Although Jillian is seen as the dramatic, tough-love trainer that everyone loves to hate, her heart is in the right place. When she invited a person from the Red Team to train with her own, and ended up helping that person deal with some personal issues, it really put Jillian in a more humanizing light.

All of the contestants are not exactly put in the most flattering light. We watch them struggle, see their most vulnerable moments and hear their stories, often filled with sadness. We can empathize with them, and really, the show does a wonderful job portraying them as real people. And they are real people with real struggles. For anyone who is trying to lose weight, this show is an inspiration because if they can do it, so can you. It also is a wonderful wake-up call and literally, a kick in the pants to run a little harder on the elliptical, strive to lift more and do that extra crunch.

It is so easy to get caught up in the story of their lives because as the audience, we want them to succeed, almost as badly as the trainers and they would want it for themselves. We experience their trials, ironically, from our couches or chairs at home and become overjoyed when they make progress and sad when they are sent home.

As a reality show, “The Biggest Loser” is extremely effective in reeling viewers in and keeping them there. it is well-crafted, effective and is so much more useful to the world because it literally helps save lives. To the contestants, best of luck and may you succeed in fulfilling your goals.