TVSquad

I know, I know, there are so many choices that your mind is about to implode. But readers of Parade.com did the work for us and they've voted for the most obnoxious celebrity in the world and the "winner" is ...

... Simon Cowell! The American Idol host got 42% of the vote, followed by Donald Trump (37%), Gordon Ramsay (12%), and Spencer Pratt (9%). How the hell did Pratt only get 9%? Maybe people were uneasy about even confirming that he's a "celebrity."

But does he swear? If he doesn't, then a big component of the TV show is lost, wouldn't you say?

Yesterday marked the release of Ubisoft's Hell's Kitchen: The Video Game (the FOX show has been advertising the game for the past several weeks). Chef Ramsay does the voice for his character, and the game actually sounds rather cool, if it works the way it's described. Players go through three rounds of cooking (preparing the food, cooking it, and then the service), and Ramsay judges you. He can shut down the kitchen if you're not doing well, and you even get an "Advanced" mode where the customers become jerks and send the food back. Go through certain levels and you get access to special Gordon Ramsay recipes.

It's no secret: I'm the only non-U.S. blogger here at TV Squad. I live in Quebec City, the capital of Canada's French province. Living here means that I have access to American, Canadian, and French-Canadian TV channels on basic cable. Canadian and American TV lineups are pretty much alike, especially since a lot of the U.S. shows also air on the Canadian airwaves. But French-Canadian TV is somewhat different than the two other ones because of the language, the culture, etc. However, the influence of American TV can be felt throughout the French-Canadian lineup. One of the main areas influenced by U.S. TV is reality programming.

Reality TV, like it or not, is definitely a major part of TV today all around the world. A lot of the U.S. reality shows originated in other countries, while some U.S. shows made their way around the world. In Canada, we have our own version of American Idol and America's Next Top Model, for example. In Quebec, there is a singing competition, Star Académie, not unlike Idol and a Big Brother-like show too and some U.S. reality shows are dubbed. That got me thinking, what are the reality shows that are watched elsewhere around the globe?

• Did you know that Fine Living has new episodes of Emeril Live every night at 7?
• At 8, ABC has a new Wipeout, followed by new episodes of I Survived A Japanese Game Show and Primetime: The Outsiders.
• FOX has a new Moment of Truth (I thought the summer finale already happened?) at 8, then the season finale of Hell's Kitchen.
• NBC has new episodes of Celebrity Family Feud and America's Got Talent.
• At 9, Discovery has a new Deadliest Catch, then a new After The Catch.
• At 10, FX has a new Rescue Me minisode, followed by the season finale of 30 Days.
• Bravo has a new Flipping Out at 10.
• Lifetime Movie Network has the movie Nightmare at the End of the Hall at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

Our Monday morning roundup of a half dozen things TV Squad readers - and TV fans in general - will be talking about this week.

1. The second season premiere of Burn Notice. The summer just got a little better to deal with. (Thursday at 10 on USA.)

2. Hell's Kitchen season finale. I predict Jen with try to throw boiling oil in Chef Ramsay's face. (Tuesday at 9 on FOX.)

3. It's Cheers Week at TV Squad. Our Retro Squad Summer continues with posts on all things Cheers (including Frasier, Wings, etc).

4. The series premiere of Flashpoint. The previews remind me of S.W.A.T. (Friday at 10 on CBS.)

5. The Television Critics Association summer press tour. Or, as Tim Goodman calls it, the Death March with Cocktails. (Starts tomorrow and runs through the 22nd.)

6. The season premiere of Big Brother. The summer just got a little bit worse. (Sunday at 8 on CBS.)

(S04E14) "My goal tonight is to make Chef Ramsay second guess the fact that he got rid of me." - Jen

Oh Jen, just when we had started to forget you, you come back with the nasty attitude and the chip on your shoulder. Like Mary Tyler Moore, you can turn the world on with your smile.

This is part one of the finale, where final contestants Petrozza and Christina design their restaurants and have to complete a service with some of the eliminated contestants. The returning players are Jen, Louross, Bobby, Corey, Matt, and Ben. Not sure why these contestants are the ones who return, other than they're the most controversial. They're not all the most recent rejects, because Roseann would be in the mix if that was the case and not Ben.

I have mixed feelings about these contestants coming back, which I'll explain after the jump.

Here are the weekly ratings, by number of viewers.

Yes, NBC had four shows in the top 20 this week, but it took the summer and reality and/or reality game shows to get there, including America's Got Talent, The Baby Borrowers, and Celebrity Family Feud. ABC's new game shows, Wipeout and I Survived A Japanese Game Show, both made the top ten.

I'm surprised Hell's Kitchen isn't higher. #14 is great, I just thought it would do better during the summer (though it does well on its night). 60 Minutes' repackaged repeat segments continue to do well too.

1. America's Got Talent (NBC)
2. Wipeout (ABC)
3. 60 Minutes (CBS)

• At 8, ABC has a new Wipeout, followed by new episodes of I Survived A Japanese Game Show and Primetime: The Outsiders.
• FOX has the summer finale of Moment of Truth, then a new Hell's Kitchen.
• NBC has a new Celebrity Family Feud at 8, followed by a new America's Got Talent.
• ABC Family has the premiere of Secret Life of the American Teen at 8 (repeated at 9).
• USA has more U.S. Olympic Trials at 8.
• TCM has His Girl Friday at 8.
• Also at 8: ESPN has the ESPY's Nomination Special.
• At 9, PBS has a new Wide Angle.
• CBS has a new 48 Hours Mystery at 9.
• Discovery has a new Deadliest Catch at 9, then a new After the Catch.
• Food Network has a new Throwdown with Bobby Flay at 9.
• At 10, FX has a new Rescue Me minisode, followed by a new 30 Days.
• History Channel has a new Mega Disasters at 10.
• There's a new ECW on Sci-Fi at 10.

Check your local TV listings for more.

Our Monday morning roundup of a half dozen things TV Squad readers - and TV fans in general - will be talking about this week.

1. The SAG/studios mess. Sure, it looks like there isn't going to be a strike (not yet anyway), but both sides are still far apart and one could still happen.

2. The Moment of Truth summer finale. Lives are destroyed for cash. Yay! (Tuesday at 8 on FOX.)

3. The Secret Life of the American Teenager. I think pregnant teenagers are about to take over the world. (Tuesday at 8 on ABC Family.)

4. Hell's Kitchen. We're down to the final two contestants (Petrozza and Christina). Whoopi Goldberg guest stars ... for some reason. (Tuesday at 9 on FOX.)

5. It's Six Feet Under Week here at TV Squad. Come reminisce about your favorite deaths!

6. The Wimbledon Final. I think Federer or Nadal might be in the final. You think? (Sunday at 9am on NBC.)

(S04E13) "Who would have thought this was going to be the top three?" - Corey

I have to agree with Corey. While I actually thought that Corey might make it to the top three (she was strong many weeks and seemed to have the attitude of someone who makes the final three on reality shows), I wasn't sure about Christina. Sure, she seems to have the cooking skills of any of the other contestants and has won several challenges, I just thought that when it came down to the nitty-gritty, she would screw up one too many times. But she's actually the secret talent of everyone who appeared this season.

And Petrozza? I like him and kinda want him to win, but I thought he would have been gone long ago because while he's competent in the kitchen, he's too nice and unassuming, and the nice people rarely win these shows. And he's a mess too, which Chef Ramsay has pointed out many times. But here we are at Day 13, with Corey, Petrozza, and Christina vying for the title.

• At 8, ABC has the series premiere of Wipeout, followed by the series premiere of I Survived A Japanese Game Show and a new Primetime: The Outsiders.
• NBC has the series premiere of Celebrity Family Feud, then a new America's Got Talent.
• At 9, FOX has a new Hell's Kitchen.
• PBS has a new Frontline at 9.
• Discovery has a new Deadliest Catch at 9.
• VH-1 has two new episodes of I Love The Millennium starting at 9.
• At 10, FX has a new minisode of Rescue Me, then a new 30 Days.
• There's a new Mega Disasters on History Channel at 10.
• Bravo has a new Flipping Out at 10.
• HBO has a new Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel at 10.
• Also at 10: Oxygen has a new Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• At 8, ABC has game six of the Celtics/Lakers NBA Finals.
• CBS has the new special AFI's 10 Top 10 at 8.
• NBC has a new Deal or No Deal at 8, followed by the season premiere of America's Got Talent.
• FOX has new episodes of Moment of Truth and Hell's Kitchen.
• At 9, PBS has a new Frontline.
• Discovery has a new Deadliest Catch at 9, then a new After The Catch.
• At 10, FX has a new 30 Days.
• Bravo has the season premiere of Flipping Out at 10.
• History Channel has a new Mega Disasters at 10.
• Oxygen has the premiere of Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood at 10.
• Also at 10: Sci-Fi has a new ECW.

Check your local TV listings for more.

• TCM has Charlie Chan movies all night.
• At 8, ABC has Game 3 of the Celtics/Lakers NBA Finals.
• FOX has a new Moment of Truth at 8, followed by a new Hell's Kitchen.
• At 9, CBS has a new 48 Hours Mystery.
• Discovery has a new Deadliest Catch at 9.
• At 10, FX has a new 30 Days.
• History Channel has a new Mega Disasters at 10.
• Bravo has a new Work Out at 10.
• Also at 10: Sci-Fi has a new ECW.

Check your local TV listings for more.

Some of our readers have pointed out in the comments section of the Hell's Kitchen episode reviews that Chef Gordon Ramsay shouldn't pick any of the contestants to be the winner, because they aren't talented enough. I think some of them clearly aren't executive chef level yet, though I think some of them could be away from the weird pressures of reality TV. The winner of the show gets $250,000 and the executive chef job at the new London West Hollywood. Unlike other seasons, this winner will actually work as the head of one of Ramsay's own restaurants, so there is a lot riding on this.

But what if he didn't pick a winner?

(S04E10) "I have a migraine...I have a migraine...I have a migraine." - Matt, who had a migraine

I worked with a couple of people like Matt in my restaurant days. Fine when things were perfect, but deep down inside there was something wrong with them, and it came out in scary, whiny, immature ways. Tonight we saw the side of Matt that was only hinted at in previous weeks. But will his cooking skills save him in the end?