TAR 30, Recap Leg 12, 2/21/18

Welcome to Leg 12! Last time, on That Crab Just Bit Me!, 4 teams raced from Thailand to Hong Kong. Henry and Evan had a Speed Bump, and managed to move into first, because Henry speaks Chinese. Conor melted down something awful when he got bit by a crab, had to speak Chinese, and then went crazy looking for hidden clues that didn’t exist. At any rate, this slowed them down and Indy Car was eliminated on the course. Which leaves us with Henry and Evan, the dating debaters from Yale, who were nearly eliminated by the first Head to Head, and then bounced back from being both U-Turned and Speed Bumped; Cody and Jessica, Team Big Brother, who fell in love in the BB House and have basically made it this far thanks for Cody; and Kristi and Jen, the freestyle skiiers who, as a team, have never placed below third on the entire race. (Toyouke: “This is a tough final three. Except for Jessica. “) Three teams remain. Who will win The Amazing Race 29? (click for more)

TAR 30, Recap Leg 11, 2/21/18

Welcome to Leg 11! Last time, on Elephants and Bullfrogs and Scorpions, Oh My!, 4 teams raced from Bahrain to Thailand. Teams had to either catch bullfrogs or measure elephants, and then eat scorpions. And everyone was fairly successful, except for Yale, who were slow and finished last. But it was the last non-elimination leg, so they are still in the race. Who will be eliminated. . . next? (click for more)

Top Chef 2/22/18--"Nut Allergy" summary

Previously on “Top Chef”: we're officially in the finale section of the show. Joseph rolled in from Last Chance Kitchen to compete in a Quickfire with sarsaparilla. There was a weird gimmick about being limited in ingredients, but it didn't matter because Carrie made fancy toast again and won. I mean, it looked really good, and that's all she had to work with basically. The Elimination challenge was cooking at 12,000 feet, with a requirement of baking. So you had to bake something. Hipster Joe didn't do perfectly on the baking part, but I guess the whole rest of the dish was so great he won. I know that no one's baked goods were perfect but still. Carrie didn't challenge herself and her dish wasn't super cohesive, but she cooked everything well. Chris took some risks but it wasn't refined or whatever so he was eliminated. (click for more)

Project Runway All Stars 2/22/18--"A Kick in the Astro" summary

Previously on “Project Runway All Stars”: for some reason everyone had to design for Betty Boop. Why? Who knows why. Also the judges said “curvy” every other word and the winner got a small collection for Torrid, which is a plus-size retailer. But they mentioned this prize once at the beginning of the episode and then never mentioned it again. And didn't have plus sized models. And Betty Boop isn't plus sized. Anyway, the result of this dumb challenge was Josh finally won for something, which was a crop top with a silhouette on it and a mesh skirt with granny panties. Char was eliminated for thinking neoprene would drape and then sewing her skirt into a giant lump (because neoprene doesn't drape). (click for more)

TAR 30, Recap Leg 10, 2/14/18

Welcome to Leg 10! Last time, on Losing a Passport Can Be Hazardous to Your Health, 5 teams raced from Zimbabwe to Bahrain. Well, at least four of them did, because Ocean Spray lost a passport en route. There was wood carrying, halwa eating, pottery breaking and camel milking, but Lucas and Brittany showed up after all that happened, so they were eliminated. Who will be eliminated. . . next? (click for more)

TAR 30, Recap Leg 9, 2/14/18

Welcome to Leg 9! Last time, on Let’s Make Everyone Sing In a Foreign Language to Laugh At Them!, 6 teams continued racing through Zimbabwe. We encounter the second double U-turn of the race, and Big Brother and Yale are U-Turned. But this all doesn’t matter, because it’s the twins who can’t sing or dance, and come in last at the Pit Stop. Who will be eliminated. . . next? (click for more)

TAR 30, Recap Leg 8, 2/7/18

Welcome to Leg 8! Last time, on Waking People Up at 4 AM Is Quirky, 6 teams raced from Prague to Zimbabwe. There was a shocking new twist called the Partner Swap, which was really an Intersection where teams swapped partners and kept racing. Not being able to drive stick meant that Kristi and Jessica had to take the other Detour option and had a difficult time remembering what to do. But, because this leg was ridiculous, it was non-elim, and teams were given their next clue immediately and told to keep racing. Who will be eliminated. . . next? (click for more)

TAR 30, Recap Leg 7, 2/7/18

Welcome to Leg 7! Last time, on Why Don’t We Get to Bathe In Beer?, 7 teams raced from France to Prague. Teams encountered the first double U-Turn of the Race, where Big Brother U-turned Well Strung. We saw a Switchback to the Kafka Roadblock, and lots of lost racers who didn’t understand that Vltava is a river. Anyway, since they were the only ones U-Turned, Well Strung never really recovered and were eliminated. Who will be eliminated. . . next? (click for more)

Top Chef 2/15/18--"Cooking High" summary

Previously on “Top Chef”: the Quickfire involved cooking a dessert in the hotel that inspired “The Shining”. Also it was supposed to be about a fear of theirs. Or a nightmare they have. Something like that. Bruce claimed to be afraid of seeds. Chris won for making mountains and a little man impaled on trees. For the Elimination challenge, since it's the last episode before the finals everyone had to do the “show us what you've learned this season” thing. Hipster Joe won, by making pasta, actually. Bruce decided not to make pasta, or polenta, but barley risotto, which he then undercooked. So Bruce was eliminated. (click for more)

TAR 30, Recap Leg 6, 1/31/18

Welcome to Leg 6! Last time, on Slider Puzzles Can Be Hazardous to Racing, 8 teams raced from Saint-Tropez to Les Baux. There was a lot of medieval device building, and fake bull fighting. In the end, Lucas and Brittany managed to pull off a first place finish and Lucas finally popped the question after nine years of dating. Team Chomp, who couldn’t open a slider puzzle, were eliminated. Who will be eliminated. . . next? (click for more)

Project Runway All Stars 2/8/18--"Thrown for a Loop by Betty Boop" summary

Previously on “Project Runway All Stars”:there was a makeup challenge, which of course had nothing to do with the makeup. Everyone got a new product with some random name, that was supposed to inspire a superhero with some power. Basically, make a pretty dress with some vague story. Remember all that drama last week with Helen? Absolutely nothing happens. Anthony makes fun of her once and that's it. He made a white dress with huge sleeves, but lost to Fabio's basic sheath with a tulle overskirt. It was so basic, and I love Fabio, but it was boring. Merline's dress was too Star Trek and her seams didn't line up, but Amanda's heavy colorblocked skirt was sent home. Hey, at least they're consistently choosing design when the choice is bad construction vs. bad design. (click for more)

Top Chef 2/8/18--"Red Rum and Then Some" summary

Previously on “Top Chef”: there was a Sudden Death Quickfire that involved edible flowers, and then cauliflower. Joseph was eliminated, because he used the cauliflower to replace rice in a risotto-type dish, but didn't chop the cauliflower finely enough. Duh. Then everyone else got into pairs to tailgate for the Broncos. Carrie and Chris made chili fries, which looked fantastic. They won tickets to this year's Super Bowl, which was made even more fantastic because Chris is an Eagles fan. Adrienne and Hipster Joe made ribs and soggy mac 'n cheese. Side note: Hipster Joe hasn't really been doing very well, has he? Fatima and Bruce for some reason made two separate dishes, so when Fatima's nachos were soggy, the judges said she was more responsible (since Hipster Joe and Adrienne had worked on all dishes equally) so she was sent home. Two strong chefs out. (click for more)

Top Chef 2/1/18--"Bronco Brouhaha" summary

Previously on “Top Chef”: it's Restaurant Wars. You know the drill. This year everyone had to make nine different dishes per restaurant, instead of six, so they got some extra help from eliminated contestants. This did not result in drama. Claudette was picked last, because Carrie didn't want to deal with her. Then Chris told her to be executive chef, and she didn't really protest, but she then decided that she wasn't going to micromanage because “everyone is adults”. Basically so she could have plausible deniability. Of course, the other team, whose executive chef was actually tasting the dishes in the pass, won easily. Joseph ended up winning for excellent FOH service. It briefly looked like Hipster Joe was in trouble, because he did three dishes and they all were kind of not great. But Claudette's dishes were also poor, and either the judges were personally offended she was a poor executive chef, or they don't like Claudette. Or they reasoned that things like burnt garlic should never had made the table because Claudette should have caught it. But anyway, she was sent home and immediately interviewed that the judges were idiots and only wanted boring food and they'd regret it. I don't regret it though. (click for more)

Project Runway All Stars 2/1/18--"Fashion's New Superheros" summary

Previously on “Project Runway All Stars”: it's time for the unconventional materials challenge, which this season is rubber balls. At least I assume they're all rubber. It doesn't matter. Helen bragged that she won the unconventional challenge her season, but then immediately started complaining about how terrible all these materials were. I don't know. Stanley won, for making an orange dress with scales. So basically a fish. Listen, it looked good so I'm only slightly offended my boy Fabio didn't win for golden armor. Anyway, then Helen bitched about how gluing was a copout, then she got called out on her attempt at shade, then she pretended she would NEVER do such a thing. Girl. Shade has plausible deniability. Also don't come for a room full of gay men with your terrible attempt at shade. Fabio and Anthony schooled her. Then of course she was safe and Candice went home for making her model look really wide. (click for more)