Something seemed off about him somehow.

Yeah, he seemed a bit out of touch, didn't he? However, he is a James Beard Award nominee. One suspects he's kind of brilliant ... in his own kitchen. Which, alas, is often the case on this show. Already a bit disappointed in Kelly, after seeing her on Iron Chef and reading such amazing reviews of her restaurant. Hope she steps up, soon. Or, hope the testosterone steps down, because it's kind of grating.

Oh! And speaking of mental illness and reality TV, is anyone else watching "Work of Art"? I'm kind of obsessed.

It left a bad taste in my mouth with the premiere. Dare I go back?

Something seemed off about him somehow.

Possibly his hair tumor?

I felt bad for him because he was clearly upset but I am SO glad I don't have to look at that thing for the rest of the season.

Which one was Kelly?

The guy from Baltimore has kind of a shifty reputation here (lots of legal actions) but he also has a ton of very vocal loyal fans. I haven't been to any of his places. His steakhouse has gotten good reviews but not it's not compelling enough to me to have left the neighborhood for it.

I couldn't stand to watch the commercials of Top Arty even I've avoided it so far.

Let me put it this way: After two episodes, if someone came to me and said, you can only have one of these three shows: "Project Runway," "Top Chef" or "Work of Art," I'd choose "Work of Art." In a heartbeat. And I'm still a fan of all three shows.

Perhaps I'm a tad biased -- I appreciate fashion and gourmet cooking, certainly, but I actually know far more about visual art than I do either of the former. But so far, I'd have to see that "WoA" is the best examination of the creative process out of this whole family of shows.

Get. Out. Really?

I was so turned off by the judges' selection in the first episode that I bailed. I just can't take the addition of more shady judging in my life. Maybe I'll try the 2nd ep. My better half's family are mostly artists (and I am decidedly NOT) so the personalities on the show were VERY familiar.

I think it might be a case where, if it's your thing, it's VERY MUCH your thing.

The second episode sheds a little light on just how messed up some of these artists are -- one very prominent case of extreme, debilitating OCD, one admission from an artist that he is literally suffering from brain damage.

What I love about the show is that it's NOT commercial-art or populist-art driven -- although, as I wrote elsewhere, it is VERY much anti-minimalist -- and it does a good job of giving insight into both process and where the drive to create comes from. You may not LIKE everyone competing, but no one is a poseur.

okay, well...on your recommendation, I'll dip back in. I don't really care whether or not I like the contestants, but I really hate shady judging in this type of competition.

See, I don't find the judging shady at all. I quite agreed on the first challenge, and disagreed on the second, although I see why they went for it.

Now I kinda want to watch it! I'll have to tape to watch when Bob is out of town though. He's vehemently anti-anything to do with SJP (post Square Pegs).

okay, why did you agree with the first challenge? I thought the clown dude's art was so atrocious, he should have been forcibly removed from the premises.