As our dear Fabio might say, the world of “Top Chef,” she is very confusing.

If the point of the show is to avoid making underdone, over-spiced and/or potentially poisonous food, then shouldn't Wednesday night's knife-packing honors have gone to either Melissa and her painfully hot habanero shrimp or Jamie and her slimy, undercooked egg?

But that's not how it worked out. Just as Richard got the boot last week for his ill-advised decision to serve banana s'mores in bulk, Alex was eliminated this week for his bone-headed attempt to make crème brulée on an impossible deadline.

So I guess the point is not to avoid making bad food but to avoid making bad decisions about food. How sad that it's too late for San Diego's own Richard to put that slogan on a T-shirt for safekeeping. (Dec. 4)

“Heroes”: The Eclipse, Part 2

Just when you thought you were out, “Heroes” sucks you back in again. Not because this week's episode was great, but because there were enough slivers of potential greatness to make it nearly impossible for fans to cash in on our TV investment just yet. So I guess Mondays won't be all about “Gossip Girl” after all.

As most of us suspected, the powers that were lost during the eclipse came roaring back with the sun. So after Claire succumbed to her gunshot wound, she came back to life. Gabriel/Sylar succumbed to Mr. Bennett's vigilante throat slitting, and then he too came back to life.

And after the resurrected Gabriel/Sylar went back to the dark side, Elle became the latest victim of his crazy cranium hacking. Or did she? Let's hope that the show's total disregard for the natural laws of life and death applies to Elle, because losing Elle would mean losing Kristen Bell, and we may never recover from that. (Dec. 2)