halopub

I would hesitate to call Sue, the judges or some of the others witnesses since they all parroted the producer line about 40 seconds. It's not apparent that they actually watched the thing happen and the hosts get prompted by runners & producers to question contestants on potential storylines throughout the competition. Nancy might have observed the whole thing since the incident happened by her but I don't know how much she was focused on her own, gorgeous dish. Given that she forgot Paul's name later in the competition because of stress, I'm skeptical about relying on her recollection. This is the second time I've noticed the show resort to convenient, rather than clear editing. In the biscuit episode, other bakers used store-bought icing and were complemented for their work. So Enwezor really got dinged for poorly baked cookies and a less than appealing design - not primarily the use of the icing. On Extra Slice, the bloopers showed that those expositional interviews with the judges, too, are often prompted by producers. I think this is the third season of the show that I've watched and I totally just tune out Mel, Sue, as well as the history segment. I find Sue to be less irritating on panel shows like QI. Hee! I love Norm too. I don't get the sense that he's been ruffled at all by the big production around him.

I don't know how much of Craig's anxiety in that video is about the live show versus anything else. It is interesting to see a little bit of what he's like away from an audience and that the team actually plans some of the stage interactions with Secretariat. Josh Robert Thompson taped a guest appearance this past week for a Late Late Show episode airing in March.

For those of you who are new to the desserts episode this weekend, let me assure you that the show gets back to its congenial, lighthearted self next week. I couldn't find the aftershow online, but there's a recap of it here with a screencap of how the dish was supposed to look. Again, it was taped before the desserts episode aired so it doesn't address how angry fans became.

Craig's tour team posted a behind-the-scenes video. There are glimpses of an anxious Craig and you get to hear from the current duo playing Secretariat.

I was a big fan of Luis' dragon showstopper but if you haven't already, you should check out the gingerbread colisseum from a few seasons back.

Interesting that so many of you seem to have gotten the show on schedule. My local affiliate, which had started the season on time, preempted the episode and will only show it in its regular rerun spot. I'm trying to remember back to August, but if I recall correctly, a big problem with Jordan's liquidity bake was that he changed his ingredients at the last minute out of fear of offending Mary. I think he was afraid of using blueberry and lemon together again after week one. I find it inexplicable that Mary would find those two flavors to be weird together. I can see how she might not care for them but unworkable? Hardly. Apparently he got plenty of flack for his looks from British viewers too. For me, it was that vibrating, social awkardness that put me on edge when he was on screen but I applaud that he put himself out there in the first place. The rabid British viewers of the show are a vocal bunch. I can't find a clip online but Jordan looked much more at ease on Extra Slice and was better put together. (In a lot of ways, that was the best part of that schmaltzy, overly scripted aftershow. The makeup people really made the contestants look fantastic.) I'm becoming more skeptical of Mary and her knowledge of well established flavor combinations. There was the blueberry/lemon issue in week one, and later on in the season, an issue with .

Those naughty puns are definitely a show staple. The social media managers at the BBC get into puns on Twitter and it's impressive when the wordplay actually manages to sidestep the innuendo. I wonder what the ones who aren't a train ride away do. Fly back and forth to Scotland? I agree that their model is preferable, with at least a few days off a week, but it is pretty crazy that the student competitors have to tape the show during their critical exam times.

It's not the first time he's chopped off his hair, but I think it has been awhile. And the new look fit well with that whole linen suit, Lotus bit in the beginning.

I would say that's probably true of most of their audience. Bless them for inspiring so many to try their hand at both eating and baking new things, though. I know I've certainly learned about flavor combinations that aren't well known stateside. Yeah, she talked about this back when the episode first broadcasted. Claire's great at baking when not under time pressure but given how she's struggled with truly serious anxiety issues and was stressed out by the whole production process, it was probably for the best that she wasn't subjected to months of competition.

My Connecticut friends don't get it on their local PBS station until January 4th. So I guess it's a staggered start but you can just keep watching the eppys online.

The Patagonia special is scheduled to air the weekend after Christmas.

"I'm an old school worm, keepin' it real, yo." That was pretty surreal but the production value was impressive and I effin' loved that snap of Smaug doing motion capture. The writing by and large made me laugh but I'm on the fence about the line where Smaug says he was "standing his ground" against a house-breaking Bilbo in a hoodie. Topical but oh so dark.

I can't imagine The Host Whisperer fully retiring and maybe he'll find a new muse around which to build a show. Letterman and Regis Philbin did a segment with him on The Late Show a few weeks back. Reege half-seriously proposed that Lassally produce a new show around he and Dave. It's going to take awhile to get used to the daily void. I still miss the puppets and they haven't been around much for years. It has been lovely getting to see some favorite guests these last weeks, though. Carrie Fisher is never boring and I love Craig's interactions with folks like Eddie Izzard & Michael Sheen. Shatner still has Conan but yeah, there was something special about the random weirdness he and Craig could create on the fly. Alynch, Has there been any news about that rumored deal with Tribune since August?

I'm not sure when Comedy Central will upload the video but Ben appeared on Colbert as Smaug, getting to make fun of himself a bit. If only Smaug could have actually thrown up on the hosts at the View.... Edited again to fix link & add: Actually Smaug ate the View hosts. BC also does a killer delivery of that milkshake line from There Will Be Blood.

PBS will begin airing old episodes of Bake Off with Downtown Abbey next month, which means it'll also be streaming free online. From the press release it is not clear which season they're showing but HuffPo says it's the latest one. Edited to fix apostrophes.

New York Magazine has chosen Hannibal as its top show of the year.

Maybe you'd like Annick Goutal's Rose Absolue. It is supposed to be a blend of coveted cultivars and does remind me of a rose garden. Also, it is not a scent per se but I like Boots Botanics Rosewater toner. It uses Damask rosewater but doesn't have a heavy "ladies who lunch" feel.

Heh. I don't think I've ever smelled that particular Bond No. 9 scent. I love Creed Imperial Millesime. It's a pain, trying to find discounted, legitimate stock that isn't too old and even then it's an investment. I've tried Creed's other unisex offerings but have never stuck with them for long. I've been meaning to try CB I Hate Perfume's different scents. Supposedly Lavender Tea and In the Library are good introductions and I vaguely remember Christopher Brosius being featured on a BBC news show a few years back. I'm also curious about his scent Wet Pavement London.

I was wrong about this. It was a Marks & Spencer jacket. So...Japanese-inspired but polyester not fancy fabric. Maybe it's another one of those things where something takes hold here but not there because it's local celebrity chefs making it popular. It never occurred to me to look at Whole Foods for these...I figured it was one of those trends where it'd be helpful to live by a Bouchon Bakery or Ansel-type place. I do know that it's become buzzworthy enough for Trader Joe's - a US chain of small groceries owned by Aldi that tries to capitalize quickly on foodie trends - to test market them in the freezer section but I'd rather try a recognized version of them first. I caught the most recent episode of ExtraSlice, which is so much more palatable when Jo goes off the painful script. Jo made a quick dig at Diana but Kate couldn't be baited and maintained that the contestants remain friendly. Sure enough, they've been posting a bunch of photos from a mini reunion this weekend, Diana included.

And right on cue the producers dropped in the music. I also love the comraderie among the remaining contestants - it was lovely to see Richard and others helping Martha finish her showstopper...I think Chetna held Martha's shaky hand during the results and then she pinned the cute Sheriff's badge from Luis onto Richard when he became Star Baker. At first I thought it was a bit of Japonisme, but I think it may have been vintage Japanese fabric. The jacket shape was a bit track suit-y, but the elaborate fabric is more (older) "ladies who lunch." According to Jay Rayner's behind-the-scenes look, it sounds like production provides all the ingredients down to the brand - even if it has to be mail ordered. Maybe they make exceptions if it's hard to procure otherwise? Luis did bring honey from his own bees. It was great to see Nancy thinking savory.

I got the Alice vibe too! She should have presented it that way, maybe adding a little marzipan top hat. So different from her cheesy-looking signature bake! I can sort of get why some folks haven't warmed up to Luis - the show often cuts away to him when he has a pinched expression - but I do think he's good at technical exposition and those design executions are lovely without being schmaltzy. I'm tickled that he designed his showstopper on one of my favorite places ever to photograph and I suspect he has a more jovial, fun personality than what we get to see on TV. Kate mentioned that he gives sheriff's badges to the different star bakers to wear, for example. I thought that was just an insane technical and the amateur bakers acquitted themselves well considering the incredible amount of work involved. If the producers are going to assign such difficult challenges, though, I think they really have to give the competitors more time. I spotted a funny tweet by a GBBO fan who quipped at this rate the show will soon be asking contestants to make a "meringue tesseract." Heh. Loved that Nancy called Paul Hollywood "that male judge." It may have just been a stressed-induced brain fart but it really made me laugh.

Officially more sleep for me! dcalley, Corden was discussed a bit in the Craig thread. There are some folks who know him from his sitcom or his successful theater run. Or his polarizing appearances on panel shows. I dug the discussion over his likely superficial understanding of Americana and whether he'll be able to establish a natural rapport with both audiences and his guests. Certainly Corden would not have the benefit of having spent years among us like Jon Oliver or Craig, as Kromm pointed out. I personally can't stand his fratboy, kiss-ass tendencies as a talk show/awards host in the past and would much prefer that he stay on his side of the pond. In the UK media, at least, it doesn't seem like he's nearly as disliked as "personalities" like Piers Morgan, but he does make the occasional 'worst comedian' lists for his low-brow schtick. This is not a guy known for delighting bookish nerds like me. That said, I do hope having a kid has made him more likeable and that he's grabbing this as a chance to raise his family away from the London party scene and the intense scrutiny of their media. I don't envy his rise to fame with the subsequent backlash, the backlash to the backlash and then the backlash to the backlash to the backlash. Brits, hold on tight to Jack Whitehall for us - it can only help Corden if you remove his influence.

I am not a Diana supporter but I am inclined to think the incident at the Friday contestant dinner was truly serious and not a way to conveniently leave the competition. I hope she regains full use of her olfactory nerve. I really have given too much thought to this whole mess. (sigh) Anyhoo, based on an earlier tweet by Rev. Richard Coles, Extra Slice tapes on Sundays, before the first broadcast on Wednesday. So the production probably invited Howard to anticipate and acknowledge contestant "mishaps" but before the powers that be realized just what an uncontrollable shitstorm their edit would create. According to Diana's radio interview, Iain called her three days before the episode aired (which would line up with his taping of Extra Slice) to warn her that "the knives are out," but frankly, I think Jo and the Extra Slice folks weren't tough on her at all. If anything, they seemed to anticipate a backlash against the judges and added that footage of Luis piping in the chest freezer. Having the chest freezer might have contributed to the ice cream not setting, but since it's a chest freezer, I would think that cold air's propensity to sink would make it more likely to stay down where Iain's work was. In the upright freezer the cold air can more easily flow down and out when the door is opened. This is what I've been able to cobble together of the narrative so far: before the showstopper there were initially five freezers - a mix of chest freezers and those tiny thirds of the retro fridges. Two of the freezers then failed before a day that either was 77F (Sue's voiceover) or over 86F (Paul's tweet). According to Iain, the contestants were told to make do and share the three working freezers, even those across the room. Diana interprets this differently, thinking she, Chetna and Nancy have ownership of the one closest to her work station - that that freezer is theirs and theirs alone to use. Iain says he initially had his creation in one freezer, presumably the chest one we saw Luis piping in, but after he briefly took it out to work on it, that first freezer no longer had room so he turned to one with space, believing them all to be communal. When Diana opens "her" freezer, she gets irritated and asks Nancy whose ice cream that was. After hearing it's Iain, she doesn't ask Iain to take it out of "her" freezer but instead does so herself. It's not clear if Nancy saw her actually take it out. And then we have the dubious 40 seconds which Sue tweeted, toeing the company line that Iain's ice cream hadn't set in the first place - or more likely a few minutes, which Iain seems to believe. Either way, did Diana purposely fail to tell Iain, or did she forget with all thing commotion going on in the tent with contestants running around with melting dishes? Both are plausible, if not equally probable. Personally, I would like to believe she had a senior moment and simply forgot but I also think it was incredibly unsportsmanlike of her to take it out in the first place. Even if she believed it was "her" assigned freezer with that "he's got his own freezer, hasn't he?", she should have then shouted at Iain off from across the tent, before putting hers in. The timing, however, get even more muddied, because Diana's daughter claims that Diana actually put Iain's ice cream back into the freezer after less than a minute out. So at what point was it out on Diana's workbench, then, for Iain to have his meltdown? And why were we not told that various contestants debated whether anyone should have been sent home when the failing equipment and heat were so against them? Were the contestants all constantly opening and closing the three freezers? Did anyone tell the judges about Diana's apparent role? Were they also told it was just 40 seconds (which might explain Mary Berry's lack of sympathy)? It's a huge media mess that crisper editing might have avoided. It's supposed to be a happy baking show, where competitors want to win, yes, but are also warm and collaborative. It's not supposed to be like all those other competitive cooking shows. Diana's continuingly unapologetic, non-explanation of what happened has done her no favors. Hyperbolic, nasty tweeters aside, Sue and the production's failure to understand the real audience anger their edit generated towards Diana is a bit worrying. This isn't the happy and quaint show we love and if you don't want us to be angry at a particular contestant when we're clearly being led that way with the dramatic edit, then you need to give us freaking context. Diana's own words in the aftermath make her pretty unsympathetic, but something about the very limited freezer space or how one believed there were assigned freezers would have at least taken the edge off our audience tempers. Or a clearer sense of the time lapse! We count on GBBO to shy away from the trope of the reality show villain and that's why so many of us are up in arms. Either we're angry at the possibility that there's a villain at all on the show, or we're angry that we're being led to believe there is one but production is simultaneously denying an interpretation of their own making.

BBC confirmed that a contestant left prior to the taping of this episode because of illness:

I caught that defensive look, too, but unless Iain is in the shot at the same time we don't know if that moment was edited in out of sequence. It's a pretty common manipulation on US competitive and candid reality shows. Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that Brits, or Americans, for that matter, should necessarily be familiar with the use of sesame in sweets - I'm just frustrated with Mary Berry because food is her profession.