From 2009: Hell’s Kitchen is one of those reality cooking shows that, while you’re watching it, you’re wondering: “What were they thinking?” I love the show and haven’t missed many episodes over its five seasons to date. It’s a total train wreck—and who can’t resist peeking at one of those? Joining me this morning is Charlie, the third contestant to whom Chef Gordon Ramsay has uttered the fateful words: “Take off your jacket.”

From 2009: "Hell’s Kitchen" is addictive fun, partly for the presence of Chef Gordon Ramsey, but mostly for the clueless ineptitude of so many of the contestants. And some, of course, are trained professionals but just unprepared to perform in the heat of Ramsey’s TV kitchen. Joining me this morning is Colleen, who runs a cooking school, but nonetheless is the fifth contestant to whom Chef Gordon Ramsay has uttered the fateful words: “Take off your jacket.”

From 2009: I look forward to speaking with the latest eliminated chefs on “Hell’s Kitchen,” which airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. on Fox. If you haven’t sampled the show yet, do get a taste. It’s delicious nonsense! Joining me this morning is J, the seventh contestant to whom Chef Gordon Ramsay has uttered the fateful words: “Take off your jacket.”

From 2009: Danny made it to the final two on Hell’s Kitchen and tonight, it’s just him, Paula, and Chef Gordon Ramsay. Oh, and a few million people watching at home. Including Mr. Media. Joining me is Danny, one of the two final contestants vying to take charge of a new restaurant at the Borgata casino in Atlantic City.

From 2009: Former NFL linebacker Bill Romanowski is a four-time Super Bowl champion—and a guy my friend Sean says, “scares the crap out of me.” So you know he won’t be dull. Romanowski, whose autobiography, Romo: My Life On The Edge, Living Dreams and Slaying Dragons, was a New York Times bestseller, is back in the limelight as the president and CEO of his own nutritional product company, Nutrition 53. He also made an appearance in the recent big screen remake of Get Smart, starring Steve Carell.

From 2009: Several years ago, Stephen Paul Leiva worked with Brad Bird in development for a Spirit animated film. Bird, of course, is best known for creating and directing The Incredibles. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get an interview with Bird in time for my Eisner biography so I never learned much about the never finished animated film. Until early Dec 2008, that is, when Leiva wrote about the project for the Los Angeles Times. It’s a great story and fills in a major gap in the Eisner cinematic story.

From 2009: Brian Krause had—from 1998 through 2006—what most guys would consider a most excellent day job: he played the character of “Leo” opposite Alyssa Milano, Holly Marie Combs, Shannen Doherty and Rose McGowan on the WB hit "Charmed.” Like I said, not bad work if you can get it. These days, Krause is out making his own mark in the world. In 2009, for example, he’ll star in three movies: Nowhere to Hide, The Gods of Circumstance and Growth.

From 2009: If you think you’re miserable right now, wait until Lia and Nick Romeo get through with you. The Romeos—they’re brother and sister, not husband and wife—just published a new book titled 11,002 Things to Be Miserable About: The Satirical Not-So-Happy Book. And what a miserable book it is! The introduction, in fact, says the book “will make you laugh, cry and contemplate self-mutilation.” Think an airplane crash landing in the Hudson River is bad?

From 2009: Justin Bruening caught a huge break. In the world of primetime network television, if your new show doesn’t immediately catch fire in the ratings or the eye of critics, you’re toast. In the new version of “Knight Rider,” starring young Mr. Bruening, the network sees something it likes despite so-so ratings and disinterest from the critics. So NBC is giving the production one more shot at getting it right. The cast has been thinned and the plot simplified. Will it work?

From 2009: Barry Libert knows all about Barack Obama winning. As the author of the new book, Barack, Inc.: Winning Business Lessons of the Obama Campaign, he and his co-author, Rick Faulk, studied the many ways that the Obama campaign put a beating on its competition in both the Democratic and Republican parties. And its willingness to use technology and the Internet is no small part of the story.