NEW YEAR NEW SHOWS : THE AFTER

I have been looking forward to The After as I know it is the brainchild of Chris Carter, creator of The X files and Millennium. It is the story of a group of people brought together when the SHTF (I'm sure you are all aware of that acronym). The cast has a mix of known and new faces and features :

Adrian Pasdar (Lost) as wade
Aldis Hodge (Leverage, Die Hard: With A Vengeance) - D. Love
Arielle Kebble (90210, The Vampire Diaries) - Tammy
Jaina Lee Ortiz ( The Shop) - Marley
Andrew Howard (Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen) - Mc Cormick
Jamie Kennedy - David
Louise Monot - Gigi Generau
Sharon Lawrence (Drop Dead Diva, One Tree Hill, Rizzoli and Isles) - Francis

The episode begins with Gigi, a wannabe actress preparing for an audition for a part. After her audition she heads back towards the Hotel she is staying in. She enters a lift noticing the large number of police, one of whom gets in the lift with her. A clown arrives and gets in. There are five people in the lift as already in there are an Irish guy and another woman. The lift stops and they can hear alarms going off outside. No-one has a cell signal.

Is this the start of a joke? A clown, an Irishman, a policewoman, a diabetic and a French woman walk in to a lift....

They open the lift door enough to squeeze out and find themselves in an underground car park. They are now locked in here. Another couple come out of the stairwell and the door slams shut. They make their way to an exit where a crash gate of some sort has dropped. They call to someone outside but he doesn't seem to acknowledge them. He looks like he is in shock. They go back to the car with the alarm sounding and an escaped felon runs toward them. The cop, Marley shoots him in the stomach. As they stare at him another felon, D. Love appears with a shotgun. There is a standoff that eventually eases and D points out that the old lady, Francis has collapsed. It turns out she is Diabetic.

D. gets a jack and lifts the gate up enough to slide under. He goes to get help. As Gigi goes under the gate it drops, almost trapping her foot and leaving the rest locked in. She promises to be back with help. Gigi gets up to street level and finds chaos. To be brief she makes her way through it and back to them with food and drink. Nobody knows what is going on. There is no power. As they start to think about how they are going to get out D. reappears in a fire truck and drives through the gate. They all get in and head for safety. Unfortunately they hit a motorcyclist and the crowd realize that they are not fire crew. D. puts his foot down on the gas and crashes through a barricade and they head toward where Francis lives to get food.

When they arrive D. has to crash through the electric gates to get in. They find a mansion waiting at the end of the drive. Francis must be one of the 1%. Once in the house, in the kitchen they notice a birthday marked on a calender on March 7th. They realize they all share the same birthday on that date. With blatant racial stereotyping, McCormick, the Irishman gets drunk and starts picking fights. They hear a car pull up and it turns out to be the missing maid Graciela being dragged around by a group of kidnappers. As they make demands and disarm the cop D. appears and swings in to action. He shoots at the kidnappers as he gets everybody back inside. They run straight out the back in to the woods with the kidnappers on their trail.

It gets a bit silly for a while like TV thrillers do. For example, Gigi wants to go back to the mansion for her phone despite the psycopaths with guns trying to kill her. Then Wade, the lawyer falls. As this is a story about the smelly stuff engaging meaningfully with the fan he has to break a leg. What would a story like this be without someone breaking a bone? Oh, no! There are no hospitals and I have a bone hanging out. Anyway, now they can hear whispering in the trees. Something comes up behind Gigi and is about to touch her when D shoots. They look down and see an alien. It is bluish in color and appears to be marked with identical tattoos to the ones individuals in this group who all share the same birthday have.

....and the winner of the best OMG expression goes to....

What on earth is going on? As they mull this over the aliens eyes open and , lying on its back makes a crab like posture, hisses and scuttles off! So it appears that an alien invasion is under way.
Why did this group come together? Is their birthday significant? Or the tattoos? Is the alien to be their controller?

More to the point, this is just a pilot. Will it get a series? I hope so. The writers ought to think hard though. Many series of this kind like V,  Threshold and Invasion tend to peter out and get canned before their run is supposed to end. Its not that they are bad -  I loved the remake of V, but when it comes to a credible story of life under alien rule writers appear to struggle. In Invasion, for example, the world was flooded and alien species are swimming around. Even green screens couldn't cut the cost of such a production. Likewise in V all opposition to the aliens had been removed. Conclusion? We would be a menu item from then on. So if this series is to take off it needs a good storyline. One without loads of back filling. Revolution gets on my nerves because it keeps going five years ago, ten years ago, etc. So does The Walking Dead. It feels like cheating to me. Screw the past, give us a good futuristic storyline! If The After gets a series will Chris Carter have something surprising for us?

We shall have to wait and see.

MAJOR NEW WORLD ORDER THEMES IN HELIX SEASON ONE EPISODE SEVEN

This is the second episode of this series that I have commented on. As I sat watching this episode I asked myself "how can I not write about this?" The writers couldn't have packed much more in the way of New World Order forward planning in to one episode.

DO NOT READ ON IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE EPISODE YET. MAJOR SPOILERS!

The series, for anyone reading that does not know the show is set in an arctic region (precise location not specified) in a research facility that deals with deadly viruses. After an "outbreak", which was actually an experiment gone wrong the Center for disease control (CDC) are called in to control the situation. The facility is run by a private corporation, is beyond the grasp of international law and carries out work that is completely unregulated.

This episode begins with the arrival of the private corporations chief operations officer Constance Sutton with a small private army. The company that they work for is the Alurias Corp. part of Arctic Biosystems. After introducing herself and urging Dr Farragut to find a cure she asks to speak to Dr Hatake in private. Here we begin to learn what is going on and who is behind it. Sutton throws a book (throws the book?) at him and grabs him, angry that he has created the virus but not the cure. Both are needed, she goes on to explain because they don't want to kill everybody, they just want to "thin the herd". Hitake adds "... and rule them."

It turns out that the CDC have been lured there so that their expertise can be used to find a cure. Constance shows an interest in Narvik B, the virus that is turning people into black goo making infection machines. She makes it clear that once they have what they want nobody is getting out alive. There are even plans and people in place to explain away what happened to the CDC members.

The next strand of the plot revolves around Ballesteros who is some kind of Army under cover person. He was left for dead in the snow by Daniel, Hatake's adopted son and found by a woman called Anana (Luciana Carro). We see them in the snow heading for the base. Meanwhile Alan shares his concerns about Sutton with his recently seduced assistant Dr Sara Jordan. They realise that there is no reason for Sutton and her army to be there as the CDC are already cleaning up. They know they are likely to be "cleaned up" themselves. As Dr Jordan says :

"Big Pharma, they're only interested in the bottom line, they don't care about people."
..to which Farragut replies :

"... and who knows how far they would go to protect their investment".
They wisely decide to keep the cure to themselves when they find it.

Story three of the narrative follows Dr Walker as she goes around level R. She keeps seeing flashing lights and getting headaches. She examines her reflection in a mirror and sees that she looks normal. There are no signs of infection. When she gets pain in her head, however, her eyes change. They become metallic grey in colour. It makes her look feline or something else non human, or, more than human. She thinks that she has antibodies that are fighting the infection when in actual fact she has changed. Next, Daniel tells Hiroshi that Sutton is trying to turn him against his dad. Hatake tells him he needs to get to Walker first as he believes that Sutton will kill her. He has the advantage of secret passages to use.

Dr Walker transforms

When Ballesteros and Anana arrive at the base Daniel sees them on a monitor. Ballesteros goes for him. Anana calls him "Miksa" and tells him she is his sister and he was snatched by Hatake. Down on level R Dr Walker is walking round with her eyes covered when she is approached by one of the infected. She is almost set upon but a scream elsewhere distracts the infected woman. She returns however, but runs when Walkers eyes change. While this is going on Sutton questions Hatake concerning his attachment to Julia Walker. He downplays it. She is determined to go and find Waklker and shows her own silver grey eyes. Hitake heads off to beat her to Walker.

When Farragut sees Ballesteros he goes for him because he killed Dr Boyle. Sutton takes Ballesteros away for "debriefing" (yes, you can tell what is coming). She is angry because he has gone  off mission. The  mission he was given was to find evidence that Hatake was "off the rails". Then they clinch but as I said you know that is coming because script writers are not very original. Even in a base isolated by extreme conditions they have to chuck in some sex. Mind you, Helix stays on the right side of decent, doing just enough to let you know what went on. Still, not necessary for this story.

Despite warming Ballesteros's dangly bits for him she keeps him confined in isolation because he has a disruptive influence. At this time Hatake has caught up with Walker. He is worried about her and as he bandages her eyes he is crying. Yes, we have been building up towards learning that perhaps he is her father. This means that he must have implanted false memories in her of a false childhood. Farragut and the Sutton army are on their way. They find that level R shows all the signs of a riot. They make their way to R17. Hatake tells Walker that Suitton is on her way to kill her. He leads her back upstairs through his passage way. The SWAT team don't get far before they are set upon. The infected (vectors, as the show refers to them) outnumber the proposed rescue team who are forced to fall back, leaving the injured behind. Farragut becomes a twat at this point going all macho and "I must find Julia" but he changes his mind when Sutton threatens the life of Dr Jordan.

Ananas fills "Miksa" in on his family history, which freaks him out. He knows nothing about the other children brought to the base or what happened to them. Hatake arrives back with Walker. Daniel confronts him and introduces his sister. He sends Walker back to the lab. He gives her a small box. He desperately tries to tell her something. Sutton tells Farragut forget Walker and get on with finding a cure. In the lab, Julia opens the box to find contact lenses. Farragut finds her. He notices her eyes. Jordan looks on.

The episode ends with the vectors breaking out of containment.

Arctic Biosystems private army arrives

WOW!. Some major themes to analyze here. When Sutton takes Hatake aside near the start of the episode we learn of an elitist plot to, as Sutton put it "thin the herd". The biggest aim of our own elite is to depopulate the globe. I'm sure that anyone that reads my stuff knows about the Georgia Guidestones and know of quotes made by such people as Kissenger and the Duke of Edinburgh about depopulation, and of the Gates Foundation offering vaccines for those that will undergo birth control and not for those who won't. Believe me, there are lunatics in our world that want to get rid of up to 80% of us so that they can claim the whole world as their own.In the show, the drug that was being worked on was called Narvik A and was supposed to infect people and kill them. The second strain, Narvik B was found to make the infected patients violent and able to display super human strength coupled with a strong compulsion to spread their infection. This parallels reality again, as ways in which to weaponise germs has been a long quest of variuos world powers (whom you must remember all work for the same people). Big Pharma is also known to release drugs on to the market place that have dangerous side effects and create bigger problems for users than their actual illness. This is what is signified by the infected people on the base.We then learn that Arctic Biosystems are powerful enough to kill off the CDC members and have people placed in positions that could easily explain it away. This refers to practices such as having employees infiltrate other organizations to control them up to and including the government. Add to this blackmailing and bribing people and you have the modus operandi of the elite.

The story next covers missing children. Over the years 32 children have been taken from the surrounding villages. They are obviously experimented on but no details have yet been given. One of the rumours that is connected to the illuminati (elite) is that they abduct children to be put in to the MK ultra mind control program to be turned in to beta sex kittens, assassins, soldiers or messengers. This is done by creating "alters", which are seperate personalities buried behind the main one that can be activated by hypnotic suggestion. In this way they can use people who may never know what they have actually done. Another aspect of this kind of control is implanting false memories. Both Julia Walker and Daniel have had this done. Daniel was in actual fact a local, but his memory of his previous life was wiped clean and replaced by one planted by Hatake that he had found him and adopted him. Julia has memories of her childhood, but they are limited and she can't remember any family. In a previous episode she found her initials and a picture of a flower done by her as a child. As yet, however she has not woke up to her real history.

The changing eyes are also significant. When transformed the victims eyes look colder and less human. This represents the trans human agenda: the desire of the elite to enhance their bodies' strength to fight infection and even to seek immortality. I am sure that somewhere on the net someone will be writing about this and equating the eyes with reptilian people. This is because of people like David Icke who misunderstand the term "Lizard Brain". This is the oldest part of our brain and is responsible for our survival instincts when in danger. It controls fight and flight impulses. When this area is larger in people it makes them more self centered, greedy and less empathetic towards others. Some psychiatrists also think that it makes people more likely to be psychopaths. This describes the elites outlook and explains why they act the way that they do. What it does NOT mean is that these people are lizards in human bodies. Excuse me while I take a half hour break for some hysterical laughter. Shape shifting Lizard people, Mr Icke? Seriously? F**K OFF!

In the show we see that Arctic Biosystems not only own the experiments being done, they have the Army in their pocket as well as the CDC. This parallels the situation in real life, as already mentioned where corporations put their people in key positions in order to get away with the evil, self serving things that they do. We also have a bit of typical sexism. Just like in the show Intelligence this show puts a woman in charge. The only reason this is done is to give us the impression that a) women are rising to the top jobs in corporations (in reality actually about 1% of women are board members) and b)to make women seem complicit in the evils that are invariably done by white men of European origin. Almost all cruelty and evil is the work of men.

The setting itself is symbolic.The scientists in the arctic isolation represents their aloofness from the rest of us. They think that they are superior to us, that their scientific training sets them apart. That is why scientists have no problem with playing god, tinkering with dangerous and poisonous things to create ways of killing people. If they are left unregulated not only do they work with deadly viruses they keep quiet about it. If, therefore there ever is a leak from one of these places we are all going to die and think it is a "mystery" disease. Bear in mind in the real world these places are not all in the Arctic. There is a germ warfare lab  in Porton down in Wiltshire, UK and Plum Island in the USA. Either of these places could contaminate the local population and beyond if there was a leak, planned or accidental. The reason a corporation would choose a place like the arctic is not for the safety of the population, it is to keep prying eyes away. It is also easier to destroy if something goes wrong. As Sutton says to Hatake "Nobody gets out alive".

Corporations and scientists, I should qualify that statement as some scientists as they are not all harbingers of doom, don't care what damage they do as long as they get the result that they want. We are expendable. The corporation is the glue that binds together the armed forces, science and politics. They sell their poison using the mass media that they also own and assure people of the rigorous testing that is done before their new poison is released on to the market. While they are doing that, it serves to make money to furthar research in to methods of mass murder.

In the last scene we see the infected escape from isolation. This symbolizes what happens when dangerous pathogens are played with. The infected cannot be contained and the virus they carry gets in to the population. Scientists may think they are god but all they do is create evil and destruction. No matter how they try, if they perfect anything like the virus in this show it will not be contained. Only the elite will have a cure, the rest of us will die a horrible death. I have recently blogged about Avian flu and the never ending attempts of scientists to get it to cross over and infect humans. Add to that GM foods with the goodness removed and the state of our so called fresh water you can see how easily we could succomb to such a disaster.

To conclude: This episode features scientists at the top of the world, in isolation, representing their aloofness and disregard for human safety and their desire to "do what they wilt" without regulation from people that they see as inferior. There is only one reason such research is carried out and that is to perfect a virus that will aid in depopulating the earth. Avian flu would seem to be where they are focussing their efforts although this could be a red herring meant to distract us from what they are really doing.

So is this harmless fiction or predictive programming? Given what is going on in the world at present I would say the latter. We can only hope that people continue to become more aware of what is happening and put a stop to it. People put a stop to escalating tensions in Syria and are standing up worldwide to Monsanto. Long may we live and hopefully we will soon rid ourselves of the parasitic state and their elite.

NEW YEAR NEW SHOWS : INTELLIGENCE

Some people have a chip on their shoulder -this guy has one in his brain!

The new year seems to be bringing in new roles for the cast of Lost. They are everywhere at the moment. Intelligence sees a return to the screen for "Sawyer" from lost Josh Holloway.

My last blog was on the new show Helix, which had micro-chipping as part of the storyline. Intelligence is about an under cover operative who is micro-chipped so that he can interface directly with the internet. He is assigned a watcher, Riley Neil played by Meghan Ory. She is the typical stereotype of a woman agent : long dark hair in a pony tail, slim build and of course cute. We could be looking at Lisbon in the Mentalist or any other show that features the regulatory stereotype. They do like stereotypes in hollywood, don't they? As soon as some actors come on screen you think "he always plays a villain, or that guy is always a policeman, etc.  Perhaps it keeps it simple for the sheeple that way.

Anyway, Intelligence. Pacy thriller or war on terrrrr? (as Bush used to say). I have to say it is mostly the latter. The ease in which Vaughn (Josh Holloway) gets information is probably supposed to convey to the viewer how easy it is for US intelligence to get data. We knew this anyway because of the NSA/GCHQ revelations that have come to life recently in the "real" world (whatever that is).


The plot. An agent can access data signals in the air and intercept and read it. At the start of the pilot we see how Vaughn can freeze a piece of data then walk through it to find evidence. So far so good, but are we going to stick to the story? No we are not. There has to be a love interest, doesn't there? In this case it is Vaughn wife, who is deep undercover in a CIA Al Qaeda cell and noone knows if she is still working for the Americans or has turned.

Vaughn is standing outside a Pakistani border listening post and is picked up by their army. When they try to question him he tells them all their names, etc, again proving he can get any information that he wants to. He escapes very easily and we see him back at base getting introduced to his handler, Riley. They are at Cyber command. The boss is played by Marg Helgenberger of CSI fame. She tells Riley that Vaughn is a war hero who is reckless, insubordinate and unpredictable which made me think why would you give such a personality a microchip? I suppose the writers needed a reason to include Riley. Vaughn can't let go of his search for his wife, which of course he is being told to forget about.

In the main story a computer expert is kidnapped. He worked on a project called clockwork, of which Vaughn is the end result. He is taken by the Chinese. He is to put a chip in an operative. He does not know if the chip works but is made to do it anyway. During the to-ing and fro-ing of the plot Strand meets her Chinese counterpart. She is also a woman. This is more brainwashing creeping in to fiction. Are we supposed to believe that all these women are rising to the top jobs in society? Not in the real bloody world! TV producers may want to give the impression of equality but we all know that the bottom line is that the world is run by White English speaking men who do whatever it takes to remain in control. This means letting one or two women and some non white people in to a handful of positions to give the impression of equality.

I have watched a few of these now and I am still deciding whether I like it. I do like Josh Holloway and Marg Helgenberger but I am wondering just how much storyline there will be given how easy it is for Vaughn to get information. Intelligence is definitely inferior to Helix, which I found both more believable and more gripping. In the second episode of intelligence the story deals with a new type of plastic explosive that is undetectable. The third episode is about an agent on the run with a hard drive full of secrets. Vaughn goes AWOL to grieve. When found by Riley he tells her that there is something wrong with his chip. (Cue Boomtown Rats : "The silicon chip inside his head got switched to overload...") It turns out that he thinks he has been hacked, that somebody is in his head watching him. When he tries to render the scene of the woman with the hard drive it turns into a hallucination. It turns out that he is being watched and may well be connected to the Chinese operative that had the chip put in in episode one. Interesting. Perhaps this show will grow in to a watchable one.

I think that using a real gun in paintball is cheating,really

Conclusion. Intelligence is about information gathering and how far the state will go to get it. It is fitting for the time falling in line with such shows as Person Of Interest. I think that big brother wants us to think that they can get to any information that they want and we cannot stop them. Its about spreading fear.

I used to think that TV programs carried predictive programming messages to indicate to the viewers which way society would be taken. Since December 2012 however I have modified that view. I think that the underground press, conspiracy sites and truth seekers have got so out of control that TV writers are actually getting their ideas from them. If you have read as many wacky things as I have recently (see my other blog Life, the Universe and Everything - plug plug!) you will know what I mean. I swear that Revolution (a favorite of mine) has had a profound and far reaching effect on a lot of people who have convinced themselves that it is real.

The truth is that the only things that are real are the illusions that we move through and try and make sense of everyday. On that deep philosophical note I will sign off.

Be seeing you!

NEW YEAR NEW SHOWS : HELIX

Helix, as the title hints, is about the DNA helix. The story is set in the Arctic circle at a research facility that is beyond international borders. It is there so that unregulated experiments can be carried out without oversight. Something goes wrong with an experiment and there are deaths. The CDC (Center for Disease Control) are sent in to help, and to investigate the cause of the outbreak. A scientist called Julia Walker is asked for specifically and she takes along Dr Alan Farragut because his brother is the only survivors of the outbreak.

The team that goes in is made up of Julia and Alan plus Dr Sara Jordan who looks about 12 years old, which makes it a little difficult to take her seriously as a scientist, and Dr Doreen Boyle.An army engineer called Ballesteros goes in with the team. So we know that the situation is dodgy because the army are involved somehow. Of course, with this being a TV piece we can't stick to the subject and have to throw in some love interest (yawn!). It turns out that Alan and Julia were married but Julia had an affair with Alans brother Peter (the infected guy).

When they first see Peter he is manic looking with black eyes and his blood is black. When the two dead operatives are examined they have turned to a pool of black goo. The team were under the impression that the site dealt with retro viruses, but this is like nothing that they have ever seen before. The site director is Dr Hiroshi Hitake and he and his team are reluctant to tell the CDC what they are working on. They deny that there are any monkeys on the site, but Dr Boyle finds hair in a drain.

Peter feels the effects of the infection

Alan Farragut finds a video-log made by his brother. On it Peter makes a hand signal, one that the brothers used to use as kids when their father got drunk and abusive. The sign he gives means "run like hell". The team have to be micro-chipped to give them access to all areas. (Perhaps this is a little warning to us that micro tagging is on the way.) Boyle and Ballesteros go looking for monkeys and find an area that they are not able to enter. They break in and see that the place has been ransacked.

Meanwhile, Peter, who was sedated heavily manages to escape quarantine and get in to the air conditioning unit. So not only are the team in a scary location hundreds of miles from civilization they have darkened corridors and a tunnel system to search.This is not a program for claustrophobic viewers. As the first episode nears its conclusion Peter has killed a security guard and stole his uniform. He is intent on going round the base infecting everyone he can. We are left with the feeling that Hitake is not cooperating and is in fact holding back information.

The Arctic Monkeys?

The team learn that someone on the site has been able to create a virus that carries with it the ability to change the DNA of the host. It is obviously some kind of weapon. As the series continues there is a lot of subterfuge, a lot of conflicts and danger to team members at every turn. The level of tension keeps you watching and the way the story comes together, with team members in different locations on the base facing different dangers is well done. The back story of each character is interesting and brings something to the story and, mercifully, there are no sex scenes thrown in for the hell of it. (Be honest, reader, how many sex scenes in such shit as Banshee are not relevant to the story? Almost all of them.) 
The cast is a strong one featuring:

Billy Campbell (Full Circle, Revolution, The Killing, The 4400) as Alan Farragut
Hiroyuki Sanada ( Revenge, Lost) as Dr Hiroshi Hatake
Kyra Zagorsky ( Supernatural, Smallville) Dr Julia Walker
Jordan Hayes is Dr Sara Jordan
Neil Napier (many video game credits inc. Assassins Creed franchise) Dr Peter Farragut
Catherine Lemieux (White House Down) Dr Doreen Boyle
Mark Ganime (Soldiers of the Apocalypse, Eve of Destruction)
Meegwun Fairbrother Daniel Aerov

This is one of the best new series I have seen in a long time. I await each episode with excitement, and I don't get exited by much, believe me. Episode six will air in the USA this week. I would love to go in to more detail but there are some great twists and a smattering of jumpy moments that I wouldn't want to spoil for the viewer. I highly recommend this show.

COOKING SHOWS:SOMETIMES WELL DONE BUT THAT'S QUITE RARE

The new year has TV schedule has a few new series post $mas, and the return of most of the shows that were suspended for the $mas holidays. I must confess that I have a lot to catch up with because I have been watching four series of the Aussie hit cookery program "My Kitchen Rules". Cooking is something that I really liked doing before I became ill, now I need the entire kitchen redesigned to suit my abilities, but who's got the money for a new kitchen right now? Not me.
I like cooking shows and watch a lot of them with my wife. We watch Masterchef UK (where the best home cook wins), Masterchef Australia (where the luckiest contestant that wrangles a few immunities wins) and the US version where the person with the best back story wins. Oh, and the New Zealand version plus the new MS Canada. The British version may be less exiting but at least it concentrates on cooking ability without any game show elements which means the winner is chosen fairly.

In fact, part of the reason that I checked out My Kitchen Rules is that Masterchef Australia 4 last season really got me irate at times. There is nothing worse than watching strong contestants get eliminated because someone has won the right to make things difficult for them. In the US version, as with Hells Kitchen  USA (both feature Gordon Ramsay) you know that certain characters will be kept in not for their abilities but for their entertainment value. There are always loud, selfish, argumentative personalities that clash with every other contestant.  It also reinforces the American Dream by showing that they can overcome any obstacle, plus they exhibit single minded, ruthless win at any cost and by any means neccessary traits that underline the dominance of corporate thinking in TV programming. In fact it is the same thinking that is behind the NSA, the military and the government in the states.

Sorry, I'm climbing down off my soapbox now! It wouldn't harm to get back to the point either. Having just watched MKR the first improvement on MS Australia is the inclusion of a round that is similar in format to "Come dine with me". Each couple visit each other and the host couple cook a three course meal. The teams of two people mark each others efforts and to ensure that fair play is (almost) achieved by having the judges marking each course out of ten while the contestants mark the overall meal out of ten. That means if a pair of assholes mark other teams low to ensure their own safety in the competition the judges, Pete and Manu mark fairly on the quality of the three courses offered. When the first round is over they cook in Kitchen HQ.

The next improvement offered by MKR comes in the elimination round, a two vs two battle to remain in the competition. In come four guest judges who get a bigger part to play in this competition than guests to MS Australia. It offers another balance to ensure that the regular duo of judges don't get too attached to certain couples and stay focused on the foods. In all four and a bit series so far (it is currently running season five) I have been able not only to say that the winners were worthy of it, the final four always seem to be of a high standard any of whom could win.

I lost my temper watching MS Australia because contestants of little skill such as Lucy (last season), who got through one round by serving Muesli, stayed way past her natural departure point. But she was nice, you see, and that goes a long way with this program.In fact, I thought the winner, Emma, was a poor choice. During the contest the judges had to talk her out of doing chips cooked three time at least twice.No imagination This is my main criticism of this show. Not everyone is given hints and advice, just the ones that are popular with the judges . Still, she was an Olympic cyclist, you know, an Aussie hero. It reminded me of MS Australia the Professionals which was won by Rhys (or Reese). His back story in round one, where he told us of his drug taking past, and that the love of his mother and the love of food saved him from a life of drugs and crime. He said in to the camera "...if it wasn't for cooking I would be dead now." I swear to you, when I heard that I turned to my wife and said "He's going to win". I was right. Finally, on the subject of the Masterchef Australia franchise I thought that the only reason that they had an "Allstars" show was so that Cameron could win. Chris, his opponent in the final was not only much better, he is one of the only contestants to go on to manage their own restuarant successfully. In the final round they had to reproduce a dessert of Peter Gilmores called the Snow egg. In a display of shameless bias Cameron had built this egg in his series of MS Australia. No surprise, he won. This followed on from a previous round when he was going to do a vegetarian christmas dinner until the judges and even the guest judge Maggie Beer talked him in to changing.

Soon MS NZ will kick off, followed by Australia, then America. We can expect new tricks to keep the audience interested. Hopefully they will not be gimmick driven and will offer us a cooking competition and not a reality show crossed with a game show.

The MS Australia franchise have announced that this year there will be no spin off series, they are concentrating on the main show. Apparently MKR embarrassed them in the ratings battle. On a similar note, the Masterchef New Zealand show this year is going to feature couples.

I wonder where they got that idea from?