Masterchef Junior season three has come to an end with Nathan taking the prize over Andrew. It was a well matched finale as both exhibited tremendous skills that excited the judges. It was likely Andrew not trusting his pressure cooker that made the difference. He opened it up too soon resulting in his meat being slightly underdone. As Gordon said aptly watching it happen, he did not trust the pressure cooker. So with this season now at an end, how did this season stack up with seasons one and two?

Well we had the same batch of adorable kids in the kitchen. None of them were nasty, mean, or rude refreshing since on the normal Masterchef you get some interesting personalities. The challenges were more or less like the full show with some kid twists thrown in. The problem this season is that it came too soon on the heels of the last one. We had just gotten over season two when the new season started up. Jarring and it made this season a little hard to get into. And it was on Tuesday night meaning it went up against NCIS, the dominant show in the 8pm time slot. So while the show got decent numbers it did not hurt the king in any way.

The show though is becoming predictable. You see the same fresh batch of wide-eyed kids wanting to cook for the judges. And some of the same types of challenges as well. We know that when they have the kids line up to do a challenge that will result in the judges being pied, dunked, or having liquid dumped on them that all the judges will get splattered. Relying on gimmicks like having a banana lowered by an extraterrestrial hurts as well. Masterchef Junior needs to think about what they are trying to do: are they having kids compete with kids or having kids cooking as adults to impress the judges. My concern is that wobbly line between them being kids and being treated as adults has been crossed once too often. We have to remember they are kids many of whom have not yet finished eighth grade!

Some suggestions for the shows producers:

1. Do Not Show Seasons So Close To Each Other
There is a reason a series will have a break, to allow the new season some distance. This is especially important for reality shows because if you show seasons back-to-back people may be less inclined to watch so quickly. Also you run the risk of running the clock out-literally. People like reality shows but if you compact the seasons they may get tired, bored, or exasperated. Not a good thing. Having season three start so soon after season two was a mistake. I am sure the programmers had a strategy but the middle part of the season saw a drop off of viewers. It came back at the end but the viewers seem to be between 4.8-5.5 million.

2. Move To Another Night
Tuesday night is not a good fit for Masterchef (either version) unless summer and reruns are all that is on. CBS dominates the 8pm hour with NCIS. ABC usually comes in second. In third place is Fox with Masterchef. Not bad but you are not going to be taking away significant viewers from CBS. Fox only dominates that hour when the other networks are running re-runs. NBC has not been doing well in that hour (usually fourth)but do not expect that to last. They are seething that a bunch of precocious kids are beating them.

3. Stop The Slapstick
Okay we get it, you want to make fun of yourselves. Do it once in a while but not every season. It gets old and predictable. How many times will we see the judges get dunked, pied, or have syrup dumped on them? You know this is heading to a very funny skit on Saturday Night Live.

4. Make the Challenges More Kid Friendly
I think the problem in a nutshell is that they see the kids are young adults in chef’s aprons. Wrong. They are still kids so do not blur that line as Gordon seems to do. Treat them as kids always and craft challenges more kid friendly. It may please the judges to see the kids prepare sushi boats but really how many times are kids doing that at home? Focus on learning essentials, testing them on it, and seeing who really understands what cooking can be.

Farewell, Joe
This season ends with the departure of Joe Bastianich. He is moving on to other things and another show (a restaurant show if I heard correctly). He may be tough and at times scolding (when you serve up a dogs dinner he is not happy about that!)but shows a lot of soul at the same time. I remember what he said to Christine Ha when she perfectly recreated Graham Elliot’s masterful dish. He said that like him, she visualizes what she eats (in his case drinks when it is wine). It was a wonderful moment and astonishing what she pulled off considering her limitation. Farewell Joe, you will be missed. Hopefully your mother will still stop by the kitchen as a guest judge.

TV By The Numbers
The numbers for Tuesday are quite telling. Only in the world of television can a show with less total viewers win a slot if it gets the highest share of the target audience. NBC’s The Voice had 14 million viewers (less than NCIS at 17 million)but had a 11 point share of the 18-49 target audience. So they get first place. CBS came in second since NCIS got 8 points in the target audience. Coming in third is ABC’s Fresh Off The Boat with a 6 point share and 5.75 million viewers. Masterchef Junior dropped to fourth place with a 5 point share and 4.83 million viewers. It lost viewers (last week 5.5 million) but at least came ahead of CW’s TV’s Hottest Commercials with 1 point share and 1.25 million viewers. When Masterchef (regular and junior)is up against tough competition like this, it almost always comes behind the big three. It does show that by the time the finale aired, the target audience was looking elsewhere.

Till the next season of Masterchef Junior: arrivederci!

It is the pressure test of the series: the restaurant challenge. Contestants man the kitchen of a well known eatery and serve courses that are on the menu. And they must do so at the highest standards possible under the ever watchful eye of the master expediter Gordon Ramsay. Which can be quite terrifying according to one aspiring junior masterchef. Six kids will enter the restaurant but only four will move on. No pressure though. And thankfully no gimmicks in this episode.

They are the well regarded  Comme Ça, a place that tries to transport you to Paris with its food. And this being a lunch service, it means things are going to be quick since a lunch crowd likes to get in and out in a reasonable amount of time. Since Andrew and Jimmy were the winners last week, they become team captains. Andrew (Team Blue) has Nathan and Jenna while Jimmy(Team red) has Ayla and Kayla. As the executive chef demonstrates the high quality dishes they will be replicating, it is pretty obvious that this is a very upscale lunch they will be serving. The guests do not know who is cooking the meal but they do know that it is being filmed. Joe as always is handling front of the house. Gordon does the expediting (terrifying as always) with Graham backing him up. Andrew tells his team what to cook while Jimmy talks to his team members as to what they want to cook.

Gordon says something quite telling about his role as expediter to the kids:

I’m not interested in how old you are. I’ll be treating you like professional chefs in my own kitchen. Got it?

Once again MCJ straddles that wobbly line between a kids reality show and treating them as adults. And points to something I noticed last season. There was a shift in the shows tenor as it went on as the judges stopped seeing them as kids but young adults in chefs aprons. And here it is again but this time but more direct. The only thing missing was the famous Ramsay profanity which is so common on Hell’s Kitchen and shows up now and then on MasterChef. Considering the fact they put kids in a real restaurant kitchen (free publicity for the restaurant)it is no small thing to say that. It meant in his eyes they were young adults in chefs aprons. Goodbye childhood, hello kitchen!

As was expected, the kids went through the usual problems of not cooking dishes right and having Gordon get angry at him. Jenna kept overcooking some cakes in the pan. Andrew lost control at one point and was sent outside to cool down because he became the terrible l’enfant in the kitchen barking out orders and not paying attention. Jimmy did not keep his station clean so plates had ugly stuff on the bottom. They ran out of chickpeas on Team Blue so some dishes (for the executive chefs no less)were not complete dishes. Ayla served raw steak and Kayla raw fish. Reviews were mixed out in the dining room. Some people liked their dishes, some found dishes salty, a little too rare, or underdone (like pasta). Except for Jenna getting burned with a hot pan, no serious incidents in the kitchen. The kids survived the ordeal and then faced the tough decision back in Masterchef kitchen as to who won and lost.

Since this task was in itself a pressure test, there was no final exam. All the judges had to do was declare a winner and send two home. And it was close because both teams did, despite inexperience and intense pressure, okay. Team Andrew won which means they go into the top four leaving Team Red to face the chop. And it was sad to see Ayla and Kayla sent home leaving Jimmy for the last spot on the final four. And the final four are Andrew, Jenna, Nathan, and Jimmy. The semifinals are next to determine who goes into the finals. I think Andrew is probably going to get into the final but I am torn as to the second spot. I think it might come down to Jimmy and Jenna but hey, anything can happen.

By The Numbers
No surprise– CBS won the hour with 2.9 rating in the 18-49 with a total of 18 million viewers for NCIS. ABC’s Fresh Off The Boat was second with 2.9 and 6 million viewers. Third place went to Masterchef Junior with 1.4 and 4.5 million viewers. MCJ beat out CW’s The Flash and NBC’s Parks and Recreation. While MCJ got into third place, its average viewership (not counting the premiere) seems to be around 4.5 million give or take some points here or there.

Next week: the semifinals!

With a nod to a Steven Speilberg movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind, a banana is majestically lowered to reveal it is the mystery ingredient. The gimmicks just keep on coming for MCJ and this was probably the episode they wisely decided not to show a primate in it. It looked cool with the steam billowing, the lights, and the judges looking up like this might be the first contact with a sentient species from outer space. Nope, just a banana being lowered by a wire but it looked impressive.

I love Bananas Foster but incorporating bananas into a dish can be tricky. Again the kids amaze us with their creativity and the top selected are Jenna for her well received Coconut Shrimp with banana puree, Nathan with his Banana Caramel Macarons that wowed the judges, and Ryan Kate’s well executed Caribbean Spiced Pork with spicy banana sauce. Wow! The judges were presented with three great dishes to decide who would win the challenge. And Nathan wins for his brilliantly executed macarons. For Ryan Kate though, it is her swan song because the next challenge will not go well for her.

Daughter in the House
Gordon’s daughter Matilda stops by to heckle her father. She says her father is a softie but does walk around the house naked (just joking she says-we hope!). She reveals her  favorite dish their dad cooks is Salmon en croute. After she reveals the dish, the look on the kids faces shows they are facing quite a challenge. Jenna’s smile turns to a real concerned look. Ryan Kate has never heard of the dish. Fish in pastry is not a new concept, actually quite old and something many countries have. Salmon en croute though is an upscale and sophisticated dish that has garnered a certain amount of fame. Gordon Ramsay’s recipe can be read at RedOnline.

With this as the elimination challenge, our young cooks will be put to the test. Matilda has made sure all the necessary ingredients are at their stations. As she lists them, she pronounces one herb in the American way:bey-zuhl. Gordon always pronounces basil as baz-uhl getting him often mocked by Joe and Graham. That aside, this challenge requires a replication of the Ramsay dish. This will really tell us who really has got the chops to make it to the end. Gordon as always cannot help teasing someone, in particular Andrew. He asks if he would like to take his daughter to dinner. Matilida (called Tillie by Gordon) is not amused and tries to get him to stop. She then tells her father that she will not marry a chef because her father is a “nutter.” Amusing looks all around.

Riley looks like he is in trouble. And Ryan Kate is nervous as well. You have to watch that pastry to make sure it cooks right. You do not want it too thick or it might be underdone. Jenna runs into a major hurdle when her Hollandaise sauce breaks. Andrew, who has extra time, decides to help her out by telling her what to do. And it saves her Hollandaise. Andrew does a good thing here, something not often seen on the adult version of the show. With all the cooking done, the judging begins. Jenna’s dish turns out near perfect and Gordon reminds her she has the ability to go far. Andrew’s dish gets compliments as well and his helping Jenna gets high marks too. Sadly Kayla’s dish looks not so good. Way too much pastry with too little salmon but worse-underdone pastry. Oh dear, you can hear those sounds of doom here. Ayala, who does not get much screen time, has a delicious dish but the sauce is very spicy. Ryan Kate has a good looking dish except that she folded the pastry wrong over her salmon resulting it being overcooked. Death gong as well for her and for Riley. His dish has many technical flaws. The pastry is raw, potatoes needed color, and the Hollandaise more like scrambled eggs. Jimmy’s dish is near perfect (he has cooked the dish before). Gordon loves the dish and Jimmy is secure in the top six. Sadly though two must go.

The winners were Jimmy and Andrew(who gets the top honor). Ryan Kate, Riley, and Kayla are on the bottom tonight. It is sad to see Riley on the bottom. Such a talented kid but this challenge got the best of him. As it did for Ryan Kate. Riley thinks Andrew will take it while Ryan Kate calls it for Nathan. Now we are down to the top six.  And next week they get literally thrown in the frying pan when they take over service at a restaurant, And Gordon is expediting. Yikes! And there is a fire thrown in for good measure.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=300NLqa2Hn4

By The Numbers
According to TV By The Numbers  NCIS got a 2.6 rating with 18 million viewers, SharkTank got 1.9 for 7 million viewers. And MasterChef Junior came in third at 1.6 rating and just under 5 million viewers. I will have to go back and check the numbers, but it looks like MCJ lost viewers. Fox’s numbers for the night are not that great. MCJ gets the highest ratings while The Mindy Project got at 1.o rating with just over 2 million viewers.

Watching MasterChef Junior at times makes me think that Gordon, Graham, and Joe missed their calling to be kids birthday planner. They seem to work well with kids and come up with ways to entertain and challenge them. If this were a show on PBS, it would be a an extension of Sesame Street. But alas no, this is a competition in which young children (and we must remember that)are competing to win a coveted prize with real cash money attached to it. And sometimes I wonder if the challenges are really geared to kids or for the judges.

After the usual banter after entering the kitchen (and Graham showing us some dance moves), the three winners from last week (Cory, Jenna and Nathan) are given baskets and a list of ingredients. They have to fill them to win the coveted top honor for the next challenge. They have a huge pantry at MasterChef that is fully stocked with just about everything grown, raised, or farmed. The pantry appears large, almost like one of those supersize hardware stores. But remember that sets can be designed to look bigger than they actually appear. At any rate, our youngsters have to fill the carts with items on the cards given to them. Sounds easy until it is pointed out nothing is labeled. And they have only two minutes. Some things are easy to spot while others are more difficult if you have never seen them before.To add more pressure the other kids follow them into the kitchen if for nothing else to kind of cheer them on (which adds more pressure).

When all is counted up in the end, Jenna gets the win with the most correct number of items from the list. Jenna’s reward is not to head up to the balcony but to choose teams for as yet unspecified challenge. This is a time for strategy but she shied away from that except for Cory and Jack. Jack is concerned about working with Cory. Cory, as we used to say when I was a kid, is a spatz. Now that is not a bad word, it just means the kid has lots of energy. And when the task is revealed, it is a doozy: a sushi boat. Sushi is not just slicing and dicing up fish. It is a very technical and precise way of presenting raw fish and its accompaniments. It takes a lot of training to become an expert. I understand why they throw this at adults but why at kids? It makes me wonder if there is a dichotomy on this show. I noticed it last season. On one hand they want to treat these kids as kids yet they put demands on them same as the adults. In fact I believe they seem them as just little chefs waiting to grow up into the big outfits. They may outwardly treat them as children but many of the tasks say otherwise.

This challenge was a team challenge but tag-team. Which means one person cooks while the other stands watching the other cook. To pull this off you need confidence in each other. And you have to be careful not to talk down your partner so as to loose confidence. Replicating a sushi boat is difficult as it is without causing unnecessary friction. Teams that worked well together produced good to excellent dishes. Those that had problems either in working with each other or just not having the confidence to pull it off, ended up on the bottom. Jenna and Kayla bicker so their confidence was lost and their dish reflected it. Likewise Cory and Jack have problems as well so their dish is not great either. Andrew and Riley really worked well together and their dish reflected it. Ayla and Jimmy did it better. They simply and mostly quietly did their work and produced a dish that won the night. That left Jenna/Kayla and Cory/Jack on the bottom.

And the decision was Cory and Jack left the kitchen. Some out on the Internet are not happy with this decision. Jenna and Kayla’s dish looked worse but the judges decided Cory and Jack were worse. It may have been a close decision or two versus one. The judges tasted both dishes so obviously one was worse than the other. At any rate the group gets smaller and smaller, not unlike taking a trip through the Willy Wonka factory.

There was an interesting bit of side news for the show. At one point, a chimpanzee was used for an episode on the show. What exactly it was doing is unclear and MasterChef says it was all done under the guidance of the American Humane Association to make sure nothing was done wrong. PETA, the radical animals rights group that wants to ban all meat from our diets (along with dairy as well), got mad when the saw a Facebook post. So they let Masterchef know of their displeasure. Now the official word is that they decided to drop using the filmed scenes for “creative reasons.” Perhaps but it shows the almost charade this show is becoming relying on such gimmicks.

Originally I was going to write your standard boiler plate up or down review of this episode. Here is what it all boils down to: gimmicks and alligator. Every reality show has a gimmick to get viewers to watch. Masterchef Junior (MCJ) has landed on the side of comedy. In this episode, the judges were made up to be 80 year old guys to match the theme of well aged foods. Fortunately most well aged foods are not kept for 80 years (unless it is a very rare wine or the legendary fruitcake of Hogwarts). One kid thought Graham’s eyebrows were scary and asked him to move away. Of course before the judging began, once again they did the Superman trick by walking  out one door as old dudes and then magically reappearing seconds later back as their current selves.

Andrew won the aged foods challenge with his grilled New York Strip with fennel salad and smashed potatoes. It looked delicious. Back in the pantry he is shown three very dangerous animals that are eaten: snapping turtle, rattlesnake, and the American alligator. My mind raced back to images of certain well traveled chefs who ate such exotic things. Andrew has to decide which one to give his fellow contestants to cook. I would have picked rattlesnake. I would bet that not one of those kids had every cooked with one before. He choose alligator and while he enjoys a nice pizza pie on the balcony, the kids get to cooking. But before that they had to go into the pantry to see which creature he had chosen. Mind you that these animals are enclosed. They are not walking about but still you get the obligatory scream. The alligator looks bored and, according to what I have read, the American alligator generally likes to stay away from humans.

Andrew choose poorly because many of them did know enough about alligator to make passable dishes. The trick is to keep it moist! Three ended up in the bottom in the end:Kyler, Jimmy and Mia. Jimmy was there because although his dish was okay, it was nothing that screamed MasterChef. More like Wednesday night dinner at Old Pop’s down the road. Okay but nothing that screamed exceptional. Both Kyler and Mia way overcooked the alligator making it tough and jerky like. No real hard decision here: Jimmy is saved sending Kyler and Mia home.

Next week:the infamous tag-team challenge returns with sushi determining whose team reigns supreme.

Odds & Ends
*Joe trying yoga and failing-priceless!
*Gordon at age 80 still looks good but the bushy eyebrows they gave Graham made him look a creature from a 1930’s movie with Lon Chaney.
*Joe putting a sock he wore on a unused food device was also kind of scary. Now I do not want to eat at his restaurant!

By The Numbers
Due to the State of the Union address, most broadcast networks used repeats to fill the evening. For the 8:00 p.m. hour that meant powerhouse NCIS was on repeat mode. According to TV By The Numbers , MasterChef Junior got a 1.8 rating in the 18-49 age group giving it a win over a repeat of NCIS. But remember those share numbers are funny things. MCJ won with less viewers (5.53 million) compared to NCIS with a share of 1.4/11.96 million eyeballs. Meaning even on a repeat night more people were actually watching a NCIS repeat than MCJ.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBB6qP7cYPM

In the last season of MasterChef Junior a team cupcake competition, where team members were literally connected to each  other, produced no unified cupcake. Instead each member produced six cupcakes of their own resulting in two separate entries though being judged as a team challenge. This time around for the sausage competition, there was no wiggle room. Each team had to produce a stunning sausage and its accompaniments. And the only way to do this right was to work together. Most of the teams got it right but some did not resulting in another take your apron and leave the kitchen result.

Before we got to the sausage team competition, once again the producers decide we must have a comedy skit that involves the judges getting dunked, drenched, or covered in something unpleasant. Last season it was maple syrup and this season is the lemon meringue pie. Fortunately the three kids–Jimmy, Ryan Kate and Andrew–did not have to make the pies. There were twelve there and they had to make the meringue for the  pie. I know many out there like to see the MasterChef judges get splattered but personally I think it is just filler for the show. And it is predictable that all of the judges will get splatted. So I would suggest they dump this skit and come up with something else for filler. After three seasons of seeing this, either call in professionals to do it or simply dump it.

Jimmy won the meringue challenge and gets to pick the teams. No exemption for him! He has to cook as well. Probably the one he was most clever about was pairing up Andrew with Cory. Andrew has one way of doing things and Cory another. And they cannot agree on much. Which means producing a unified sausage dish is going to be a challenge. Jenna hates sausage and it makes you wonder if pairing with Mia will work. But despite her dislike of sausage, their pork & chorizo with sauerkraut is delicious. Joe thinks it reminds him of a rustic German dish and even yodels when the girls ask. Gordon is pleased as well.

Jimmy and Kyler though have a split decision, which is rare to see on MasterChef. Joe likes their pork butt & kangaroo dish but Gordon has a totally different reaction. Not only did he disagree with Joe but said they ought to have left kangaroo to the Australians. Which means Graham would be tasting it to break the tie. But no, for some reason it is not shown. Huh? Here you have two judges with two completely different takes on a contestant’s food. Is it not worth it to put in what Graham thought as well?

On the other hand Ayla & Reilly got raves for their version of bangers and mash. Gordon’s only complaint was that the sausage was too small. But at least they got it right unlike Andrew & Cory and Alexis & Micah. Andrew & Cory was a sad dish to look at. The sausage was dry and bland which is not a good thing when it is supposed to be the star. Alexis & Micah had a promising dish with white bean and Swiss chard stew but both the sausage and stew were under seasoned. Meaning the sausage sat in a watery dish that gave it no help. Not good at all.

The winning team was Jenna and Micah, remarkable when you recall Jenna hated sausage. It was no surprise that Andrew & Cory and Alexis & Micah ended up on the bottom. After the usual drama, Alexis & Micah were sent home.

I liked the sausage challenge which took them out of their comfort zone. Most people do not make their own sausage. It is a lot of work to do but gives you control over the meat and spices being used.

Odds & Ends
*Andrew really has to learn that yelling at inanimate objects like stand mixers will do no good. Unless you are on The Muppet Show and only with the Swedish Chef.
*Always watch your flame on a gas burner. Once it goes out precious cooking time is lost.
*As always those who over salt their food will get zinged but those who under season their food will always end up on the bottom.

By The Numbers
TV By The Numbers final results for Tuesday night are in. For the 8:00 p.m. hour, NCIS (CBS) won 1st place with 19.87 million, SharkTank(ABC) came in second at 7.48 million, and in third place MasterChef Junior with 4.93 million viewers. MasterChef was 5.26 million last week so it lost viewers, which is not unexpected, after the premiere. Fox has renewed it already for a fourth season and replacing Joe is Christina Tosi, the owner of New York’s dessert-based restaurant Momofuku Milk Bar.

Next week: We see aged versions of the judges and there are some scary reptiles and snakes in the house. (Note: The U.S. State of the Union address will be shown at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT on that day. So it is likely the east and central timezones will have their showing pre-empted for its coverage).

Here we go again with another season of MasterChef Junior season 3. Are you ready? Too bad because here we go!

*The kids arrive and told they are the best kid cooks around. But they need one thing to complete the image, an apron. Treasure hunt! They race into the pantry to search food bins, containers, refrigerators and even large objects shaped like chocolate eggs for aprons with their name on it. Fortunately the clock is not ticking. Trust me if they do this again they will give them 5 minutes and then they wear the apron of shame (one that has a picture of Gordon laughing).

*The mystery box is chocked full of ingredients including a nice piece of salmon. So many ways to cook this nice bit of fish or something else. Ultimately Kayla, Jack, and Jenna are called up for their dishes to be sampled. And in a first for Masterchef, a tie. Seems the judges could not make up their minds who would win. So they all do! They go back to the pantry to select one of three pastas for their fellow cheftestants to cook. Joe likes ravioli, Graham lasagna, and Gordon pappardelle. Pappardelle is a wide pasta not unlike fettucine and is served with a hearty sauce. Delicious but complicated to get the pasta just right.

*While the three head up to the balcony with ice cream sundaes, someone hopes they get brain freeze. Perhaps said in jest or perhaps not!

*It really comes down to who made not only the best pasta but a flavorful sauce as well. Underdone noodles, too little sauce, missing salt are all things that the judges notice when they taste the results. However there are enough delicious ones to pass muster and keep them in the competition. Ryan Kate, Jimmy, and Andrew are the winners but sadly AJ, Philly, Quincy, Jianna, and Parker are sent home at the end. Wow that is a big chop sending five home the first night. This season is starting off fast and will go by quickly if the usual pace of about two per episode dropped is kept from this point on.

*First ever major kitchen incident. Up till now most injuries are simple nicks but unfortunately Kayla Mitchell (age 11) sliced two fingers during the mystery box challenge. Yikes! Medics are quickly dispatched and make sure the wounds are not serious. They quickly bandage her and and put a glove on the hand to protect it. She then resumes the competition and of course was in the top three winners of the challenge. It was pretty bloody reports Radar Online

All I remember seeing was, like, part of my nail was gone and there was just blood everywhere. It was horrible. Honestly, I didn’t really know what to do. You want to keep pushing and you want to keep going to cook and finish. I was just really nervous that I wasn’t going to be able to finish the challenge.

*Needless to say MasterChef immediately alerted the media that the set is well staffed with medics and a safety class is held so the kids know kitchen safety basics. Accidents are going to happen and thankfully this was not something requiring a trip to the hospital and requiring stitches.

*One writer out there said it is really hard to know what makes these kids tick. We get hardly any background about their lives at home. Just some bits and pieces dropped here and there. It is a valid point. How do these kids get this good? Be nice to see them at home to add more to their backstory.

*So how did the show fare in the ratings? According to TV By The Numbers, MasterChef Junior earned a 1.8 rating for adults 18-49, even with fall season premiere and up 6 percent from the last season finale. But NCIS was 2.7 with a 17 percent gain from its most original episode. ABC’s Marvel’s Agent Carter got a respectable 1.9 putting MasterChef in third place for the 8:00 hour. It means 19. 49 people watched NCIS, 6.88 million for Agent Carter, and 5.26 million for MasterChef Junior.

Next week we go vaudeville or old school comedy with the old fashioned pie-in-your-face skit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISrBsDQaRmM