Take one chef with plenty of personality who creates creative, unusual and/or amazing cakes. Add a dash of drama and a handful of interesting, funny and/or temperamental supporting characters. Mix together. Voila! You have a delicious bakery show.
While I think Buddy, the boss on "Cake Boss," creates gorgeous cakes and I love that his bakery is in New Jersey, I find Duff and his Charm City Cakes crew far more entertaining and engaging.
I like that Duff's team gets along and has fun; Buddy's crew, however, has a lot of infighting (it could be because much of his staff is family) and that makes for some uncomfortable viewing.
I also prefer "Ace of Cakes" because, well, it's the original. Duplicates are rarely as good as the original.
And I can't be mad at "Cake Boss": Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
Lots of things going on in TV land these days. Here are my thoughts before hitting the hay at waaaaayyyy too late an hour.
* I'm glad "In Plain Sight" is back. I forgot how much I enjoy this show. It's serious. It's funny. There's always a mystery to solve. I love the dynamics between the characters. Mary McCormack is a great actress, playing her character, Mary, as strong, sincere and deeply troubled. She's definitely a good anchor for the show. And Fred Weller, who plays Mary's Witness Protection colleague Marshall, has incredible timing and delivery. "In Plain Sight" airs at 10 p.m. Sundays on USA.
* I am a lot behind on watching "The Soup." I have four episodes downloaded to my iTunes account. I need my fix ASAP.
* I was so upset at myself when I realized on Friday night that I'd missed "My Boys" on Tuesday. (We were having family dinner with a priest friend.) "My Boys" is one of my true faves. While Jordana Spiro's PJ is a likeable character, it's her guy friends who make the show. You believe that these five very different men could really be friends. And Reid Scott is smokin'. And Jim Gaffigan is my all-time favorite stand-up comedian, so you can't go wrong there. I'm glad I can watch any episode I miss on Comcast On Demand and TBS.com for free. (It also illustrates that I still need DVR.) "My Boys" airs at 10:30 p.m. Tuesdays on TBS.
* My friend Shelley posted a gem of a video from Jimmy Fallon's show. This is a must-see for "Lost" fans. Michael Emerson (aka Benjamin Linus) is a genius.
* Lastly, I have proven my word-nerdery with my love of two game shows on GSN: "Lingo" and "Chain Reaction." Perhaps some family members mocked me because of my love of these shows. But I'm addicted. "Lingo" mixes two of my favorite things: scrambled words and bingo. I'm in heaven. There are two irritating things about "Lingo," though:
1. New episodes are not being made.
2. Host Chuck Woolery still says, "We'll be back in two and two" before going to commercial. That's so ... 1980s "Love Connection."
Jimmy Fallon has launched an effort to reunite the cast of "Saved by the Bell" on his show. He has Mr. Belding on board, now he just needs Zack, Slater, Kelly, Jessie and the gang to sign on.
If you can believe it, it's been 20 years since "Saved by the Bell" began. Whoa.
Watch the clip of Jimmy and Mr. Belding here. While there, you can also sign the petition to encourage the cast to reunite.
Oh, I know ... He's allowed to follow his heart and regret his decision.
I get it.
But, good Lord, we don't need an indecisive guy. We don't need a Bachelor who really has no luck in love: He had a rough divorce, then he got dumped by DeAnna, then he falls for Melissa and proposes but then the chemistry's not there and he's still in love with Molly, the gal he dumped ...
ABC needs its next Bachelor to be strong and decisive, no sob stories, no guy who has a long loved-and-lost history.
Enough.
P.S. Yes, Jason reminds me of a guy I dated in high school. It's his looks, his receding hairline, the New Age-y/self-help lines he spews, the wanting to date multiple women, etc. That might be part of why I dislike him now. Yeah.
I'm a wife, mom, sister, daughter, aunt, cousin, friend, editor. My life is fantastic, but I still dream of being a Broadway singer. And a professional baker.
