Reunion wrap-up + long-promised preview/review

Well, readers, it has been a week of reunions in the world (or my world, I suppose) of reality tv. Let's get to it.

"The Bachelor: After the Final Rose, Part Two" - I'm not kidding, that's the full name. This hour was just about as throw-away as I expected it to be. Probably the weirdest part was the opening where they threw together Naomi, Kari (my husband kept asking who she was), Nikki, Erica, and Stephanie to rap about the shocking ending. I totally buy Naomi and Stephanie being there - they made it pretty far, had all kissed Jason, knew the girls - but the other 3 were kind of random. To my unsettled surprise, most of them seemed to support Jason, because they all knew what it was like to be in love with him and they knew he had a tough choice. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! Maybe they were just really glad they weren't part of this switcheroo, but I mean, come on, stand up for your fellow ladies! He did you girls wrong! So that was a little disappointing, not to mention pointless. They did take some comments from audience members, so that was kind of cool. But again, these people weren't there. Move it along, Chris! He does by reading a quote from Melissa, who obviously didn't want to be there. She's doing surprisingly well, glad things played out the way they did (I also read a statement from her that mentioned she had been extended the offer to be the next Bachelorette, but turned it down as she has decided her reality tv days are over). Love her. So then they bring Molly out and Chris talks to her about how and why she took Jason back - stellar question. She said she never fell out of love with him and she grilled him the night of the first 'After the Final Rose.' In this case, I agree with what Trista Sutter (the first Bachelorette) has said about this whole thing - it would be really hard to trust someone when you knew they have already picked someone else over you. Blah blah blah, bring out Jason. He again said he didn't have any regrets and didn't want to. My main question here is - don't you kind of regret needlessly breaking Melissa's heart? I mean, I know it only made his relationship with Molly stronger, and of course Melissa is better off, but wouldn't you kind of wish you had seen the forest for the trees and picked your right girl in the first place? I mean, I do. I dated some lame guys - they did get me ready for my husband, but there is a part of me that wishes I could have avoided some of that. ANYWAYS, long story short, they did actually appear really into each other, which is good, and Molly will be moving to Seattle. Plus they gave them the tent from their first one-on-one date. Now it's Bachelorette announcement time! And it is none other than America's Canadian Sweetheart - Jillian. I had previously stated that unless Stephanie or Melissa were the next bachelorette, I was done with this franchise (sorry, Chris!). We'll see how long this resolve lasts since - what else am I going to watch this summer?

"Top Chef: New York" Reunion Special - Hosted by the ever-lovely Andy Cohen, featuring, I believe, all of the contestants and judges. What a treat! I think my favorite part about these reunions are the previously un-aired footage along with the montages. Favorite un-aired moment - Jamie and Leah drunk at Judge's Table. HILARIOUS. Most of the montages concerning Stefan were great as well. Everyone seemed to be getting along, so that was also a plus. Hosea and Leah have both been broken up with by their significant others and are not together, though they mentioned that if they were in the same place they would give it a try. Fabio was voted fan favorite. Fabio's mother and Hosea's father are not doing well, and they showed a picture from Gail's wedding!!! Pretty good special, nothing earth-shattering.

So what will you watch now, you ask? I recommend "Last Restaurant Standing" on BBC America. The premise is: world-renowned restauranteur Raymond Blanc (my husband says he must not be that famous since he hasn't been on "Top Chef") has selected 9 couples with which he would possibly like to open a restaurant. One half of the couple is the executive chef, while the other half is in charge of front-of-house. Raymond also has two restaurant expert judges to form a panel. He gives each couple an actual restaurant and they have challenges and are eliminated. At the end, the winning couple gets to open a restaurant with Mr. Blanc. My husband and I were initially confused by the format, so I'm going to lay it all out for you. Each episode is an hour and a couple is only eliminated every other episode. So one episode they have a particular challenge that they have to execute within their restaurant. They meet with Raymond and the judges and one restaurant is selected 'restaurant of the week' and 3 couples are selected to go into the challenge. The next episode is the challenge - they are thrown into a different part of the food world and must adapt excel because otherwise they are eliminated. In these challenges, the members of the other couples are split up into the challenge couples, making for a sort of team challenge. The thing I really like about this show is that it is more about restaurants than cooking. I am learning how hard it is to run the front-of-the-house and that good food really matters. It is filmed in Britain (one guy looks like he is straight out of Wallace & Gromit, I swear) and Raymond is French, so the accents are struggle, but we have found it very compelling. I really recommend adding it to your weekly viewing if you have BBC America and are looking for another food-related competition. Woo!