candall
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Posts posted by candall
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So Nina looks at an outfit with big stuffed dinosaur heads perched on each shoulder and says, "I looked at it and I couldn't find any toooooys." <eyeroll>
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The judging is whacky and unfathomable, same as every other year. None of the seven people standing at the end had the slightest idea whether they were a High Score or a Low Score.
I'm thinking you could've swapped the 'safe' people with the high/low people and the judges would've justified an entirely different result, presto chango, with equal conviction.
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The pandas looked more as though they were wearing saucy narrow red Zorro masks--not bleeding eyes, for cripe's sake!
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I haven't checked in with this mess since the first episode and it's all exactly the same!
Queen still refuses to listen to anyone about any-bloody-thing, the prom queen girls are still sniping at each other, and the idiot redhead guy is still just standing on the side staring vacantly into space while the whole exercise implodes around him.
Now, about that idiot redhead. I HATED watching him kick that fish. The objection Gordon was searching for was "Because you don't treat a living creature with such casual cruelty."
Of course, all the fish they hurled back into the water were soon just as dead as the one he was kicking across the rocks. (If you want to release a fish, you gently lower it into the water and support it until its gills acclimate and it shoots away.)
No one associated with this stupid show knew fuck-all about fishing. All that screeching and yelling! Hasn't anyone ever heard of "Quiet! You'll scare the fish!"?
How's that writers' strike coming along? We're really scraping the bottom of the barrel with this dross.
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2 hours ago, seacliffsal said:
I think several of the designers have some attitude that wasn't necessarily there before. I felt for the contestant from season 1 who walked in and was completely ignored at first, only to have Korto say that she thought she worked there-so workers don't warrant a greeting? [...]
Exactly what I came here to say, too. I don't care if Carol Burnett's char lady shuffles in dragging her bucket, don't be too superior to acknowledge another human being entering the room. S/he may turn out to be someone who was breaking professional ground way before the world ever heard of YOU.
(Also, in fairy tales, she's the Queen in disguise.)
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Andy Cohen! I'm sure you're the one responsible for attaching your little WWHL caboose onto my Project Runway recording and making me excited about a 90-minute episode.
Boooo.
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I liked Saba very much. She was a competent professional. I thought she was every bit as talented as the Alpha Boys, but she was immediately reduced to sous chef status along with all the other women.
The judging was so manufactured and arbitrary. They could easily have channeled Saba into the "Superior" stream the same way they did Cory and Preston, with all that capo bullshit. They just chose not to.
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Weird little footnote, but what the hell:
The cheftestants managed to pronounce lasagna and famiglia with silent g's, but they all (including Alex) punted on tagliatelle and agnolotti. Even with cutie pie Gabe Bertaccini sitting right there, saying "This tah-lyah-tell-eh is very nicely done," no one picked up on it.
Now I've heard Alex say "ag-noh-loh-tee" twice on other shows and it drives me crazy. Really?
Also, Alex doesn't understand a "hat trick".
Alex: "Mmm, spicy AND delicious! Hat trick!" 🤣
Sigh. So much potential for this scenic location/cooking competition and it was just ill-thought-out and sloppy. Ciao-ciao.
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2 hours ago, iMonrey said:
I enjoyed the drag queen episode more than I thought I would. They were pretty bad during the first couple of rounds, but they got better as they went along. And they were entertaining. I wouldn't want to see a lot of "theme" episodes though. We didn't get the brightest bunch when they did the twin episode either.
Exactly. I thought it might turn out to be a wasted hour of double-entendres and goofy "Chaka Khan" answers. But things tightened up once they all got over their nerves.
I loved the elegant, understated Hilly--how long did she say she'd been in the industry? But I also enjoyed Woo Woo and Olivia.
I hoped that Woo Woo would get to stay for the final round. Woo Woo vs. Hilly is probably the best chance there will ever be to see the two best players in the final.
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Hey, show. You've only put out one episode. Maybe it's not too late to release the episodes the woman showrunner produced, starting with Episode 2.
Because everyone who is not The Weeknd hates this mess.
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I didn't think it was a successful exercise to EC the mise-en-place challenge. It made for a frenetic production, the cooking time and the commentary from both judges and chefs were too abbreviated, that stupid whistle was irritating. Mainly, though, I was confused about the rules, and I believe the losing team chefs were as well.
This is pretty much my first complaint about the season, though. The locations, the challenges, the camaraderie and respect among the whole bunch of confident, talented chefs--outstanding.
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ETA: I enjoyed this episode much more than the first one. This was car-wreck level bad and I just sat and giggled at Gordon morosely testifying that this, THIS was "the most embarrassed [he'd] ever been in his life." Sure, Chef, sell it!
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--Sorry, I would not let a woman with inflated bosom globes curate my event.
--When did "critique" become synonymous with "criticize"? I hear it all the time on reality competitions these days.
--Lady!!! Eyebrows!!!
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I tell you, I would read a snarky book detailing the poor decisions that went into the production of this splashy crapfest. Starting, I now learn, with renting a charming Tuscan villa even though the crappy little outdated kitchen only holds half the cheftestants.
I would have been pretty happy to giggle and wisecrack over the stupidity if only it could have been a smidge less sexist. It felt like the women were basically only there to serve as sous chefs for the men.
One of the men said it was his third time in a row as capo. Did "Pasta Queen" Sarah ever get to lead a team?
Why were two men the only ones allowed to go on the peak cool field trip to the cheese caves? They could have let everyone go for the tour and the tastings and let the challenge capos choose the five cheeses they wanted. Nope. Alpha males only.
Saba and Natalie might not have been the strongest chefs there, but they reached the finale fair and square according to the rules of the show. It was a kick in the teeth for them to essentially be told, "We've decided to let the two men we really liked come back so one of them can compete against you for the prize."
Grrr.
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Hotel Hell! I forgot about that little gem, LOL.
So:
Masterchef/Masterchef Junior
Hell's Kitchen
Kitchen Nightmares
Food Stars
Uncharted/Uncharted Showdown
Next Level Chef
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Gordon Ramsay's Road Trip/American Road Trip
The F Word
Gordon Behind Bars
Ramsay's Boiling Point
Hotel Hell
24 Hours to Hell and Back
Best New Restaurant
Ramsay's Best Restaurant
Gordon Ramsay's Shark Bait
The Ultimate Cookery Course
Matilda and the Ramsay Bunch
Ramsay's Costa Del Nightmares
Gordon Ramsay's Home Cooking
Hotel GB
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I'm exhausted. GordoRam must be on tv more than Law & Order!
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On 5/26/2023 at 12:20 PM, aghst said:
I meant people like Saba and some of the other contestants who've apparently been on other FN shows?
I'm pretty sure I heard Saba say she had been a Chopped Grand Champion.
On 5/23/2023 at 10:50 PM, kirklandia said:Alex appears much happier in an American supermarket parking lot than she does in a Tuscan villa.
Hilarious!
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Not only was Gordo's hair dry, but we saw at least two different helicopter jumps. The first man had his feet and legs locked together and the second man (different camera angle) had his legs all akimbo. Whether either of those men was Gordon Ramsay, who knows?
I'm not sure about following this show. I mainly watch cooking competitions for the food. GR employs so many ridiculous shenanigans. E.g. on Hell's Kitchen, every last showdown between the teams is a dead even tie right up to the final dish. Unless the final dish brings the teams into a tie and then they get to have a dramatic "tiebreaker"! <eyeroll>
I can't even believe they're still lowering that tray of ingredients down through the "levels" of chefs. Hoot mon.
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On 5/15/2023 at 4:43 PM, Chatty Cake said:
As long as Tom keeps going off on these people, I’m happy. At first I didn’t care for him but then I figured why not just enjoy it?
I think he's exhausting. In every gathering, he sits with a sour look on his face, then he explodes and says incredibly rude things at machine gun pace that no one can interrupt or respond to, and then he strides rapidly out of the room. A commercial break or two later, he's back.
And people put up with these tantrums??
44 minutes ago, suzeecat said:I was incensed at Kwame for not taking Kasia (I think that's her name?) to his home, he is SO slimy!!! Mr. "I'm a very private person" goes on *international* tv to get married, but can't let his "wife" see his home. Surely Kasia can NOT be as daft as she appears! All her sisters - literally EVERY BODY tells her that Kwame is no good and she still appears to be considering him.
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I guess you have to be ancient to remember life before cell phones, but here's one spot where landlines were helpful: When a man you'd just met was eager to give you his work number, but not his home number, it's because there was a wife at home.
The reasons would be creative and amusing, but it was always, in the end, "Wife."
Kwame's just a big flashback red flag to me. I'd bet money there's a live-in girlfriend (or boyfriend.)
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10 hours ago, suzeecat said:
Matt is generally strange and weird - I find myself focusing on his hair, which appears to be, um, textured? braided? cornrowed? I've never seen anything quite like it before. It reminds me of a wheat field.
Pelt.
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2 hours ago, TeapotWakeen said:
At the time, I was saying that Gemma was acting entirely inappropriately, and that she was sexually harassing him. I admired his clear communication about disliking her "jokes."
As to whether Matt is "revealed" to be a jerk, well...... get back to me on that when you're caught up! 😜
Yes, I completely agreed with you that Gemma was being inappropriate. I also agree that Matt is unusually clear about communicating his position. (I've had a relationship with exactly one person who could convey feelings with such clarity. A career therapist. It was dazzling.)
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I love that they allow the unhappy couples a graceful exit and refresh the roster with new couples. I watched only one season of the US version and it seemed ridiculous the amount of time they wasted showing us the pairs who clearly and unequivocally loathed each other. As if, with the proper encouragement, they might boot 'n rally.
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On 4/28/2023 at 10:00 AM, TeapotWakeen said:
The new couple, Gemma and the guy with face tats, are so horrifying to watch. She is on him constantly with her sex comments and unwelcome touching. He is communicating clearly what he is uncomfortable with, and she carries on sexually harassing him. It's not okay for either gender to push their partner sexually, and it's so obvious that she is used to "proving her worth" sexually that she doesn't trust she has other value to a man. I admire his clear and calm communication, and if she is willing to examine her behavior, she might have a healing relationship with him. But I bet the self-sabotage urge is too strong.
I'm on Episode 15 now. It sounds, from your comments, that Matt is ultimately revealed to be a total jerk, but right now I am totally Team Matt. Good grief, Gemma was making jokes about how he was really going to be tasting a "lot of fish" on their honeymoon (which cracked up her mother!) EWWWW. If some stranger-groom is joking, at our wedding reception, about choking me out with blow jobs, there is never going to be a honeymoon he needs to worry about.
And telling Matt "My fanny [British for vagina] is throbbing now!" while he's doing his best to tell her the graphic sex references are a turn-off for him?
It's not cool for him to keep walking away, but I can see why he would. He's extraordinarily good at verbally communicating his response to the vulgar sex talk and then her reaction to that is to plead with him to say he finds her attractive. She's inappropriate, then she's needy, and if he tried to comfort her in her desperate neediness, isn't it likely she'd have his zipper down?
No woman wants to date a man who leers at her like a horny 14-year old whenever the words "hard" or "come" are part of an innocent conversation. Gemma barely seems above that level.
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Pairing Johnathan with Sophie just makes me mad at this show and sad for the two of them. Is there some world in which the "experts" think Sophie will give up $400 dinners and designer clothes to settle down for the love of a good man in a small village as the local carpenter's wife? Even her own father says her best match will need to be a rich man. Zero points for effort, show.
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I'm still bingeing the 13 hours I've accumulated, but I'm watching "Yes Week" and I can't keep my mouth shut about how much April is enjoying putting George through the ringer with his fear of heights. She says, "He needs to see what a wild girl I am!"
No, I think he gets to see what a cruel bitch you are. (And I rarely ever use that word.)
Phobias are real.
If my new "spouse" thought it was hilarious to exploit my ir/rational fear of something, I'd tear up that MAFS contract so fast, her head would be spinning.
Although, I have to add that George must be exaggerating the severity of his acrophobia somewhat or he wouldn't be rappelling down the side of the building--he'd be doubled over vomiting or zooming away in an ambulance while they tried to bring his heartrate down before he went into arrest.
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I guess I'll throw in one other thing that bugged me, while I'm posting here all out of order.
I was shocked when Zoe wouldn't taste Jenna's scrambled tofu "eggs". One partner being vegan is HUGE and will require compromises from both of them all over the place. Taking just a little taste of your brand new wife's breakfast would have been the tiniest baby step possible. But . . . nope. : (
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On 4/5/2023 at 5:47 PM, Yeah No said:
Oh I know she didn't say it, I was referring to her "bitch, bitch days" because it became identified with her because Dave said it to her. She was that season's villain, which I know was probably mostly undeserved, but her behavior on screen was pretty unsavory and I know a lot of people still remember that including me. I don't know anything about the Andy Cohen thing so I can't comment on that. She does seem to be much nicer and more mature now so that's good but I'm still not a big fan. I think my point, (which probably got lost) was that I don't just find the male chefs annoying or "dickish" or whatever and that most of these chefs have bugged me for one reason or another at various times. I just don't dislike any of them enough to want them off my screen and I guess I can't wrap my mind around that, but that's just me. 🤷♀️
I just watched a 2020 episode of Chopped and it was "Beat the Judges: Tiffani Faison."
There were two competitors working like crazy in a 30-minute entree round to see which one would go against Tiffani for the final round. Suddenly Tiffani walks into the middle of everything from somewhere off-set. One guy is stirring something on the stove when Tiffani sticks a spoon in, tastes it, makes a "yuk" face and says something like "You're going to have to do better than that." Either Scott Conant or Mark Murphy says, "Come on, he just started! It's going to come together!"
Then she wanders over to the other cheftestant and asks her "What happened? It looks like a bomb went off at your station."
One of the judging panel people asks Tiffani if she's worried about competing in the next round and she says, "I don't think I have anything to worry about." Then she walks off-camera.
I was astonished at how much rudeness she was able to cram into a 45-second appearance. She could have been gracious enough to say, "I see some serious talent here; I'll need to bring my best." Alex Guarn. is self-deprecating like that, week after week, to her competitors on Alex vs. The Universe, or whatever that is.
Anyway, I remembered there was a discussion on this TOC thread about how much Tiffani had changed her style and stopped being such a Mean Girl. Well, as of 2020, not so much.
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Good call! I can see Antonia and sunny Gabe lounging on the villa terrace, sipping wine, waiting for the next course.
But if the first choice was Giada, we're not having this discussion because I never tuned in. I get obsessed with catching Giada scraping a tiny speck of food off her fork with her front teeth before the camera cuts away.
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P.S. I don't know why this isn't listed in the Competitive Reality section. They're definitely competing, someone is being eliminated every week, there's a big prize.
(Traveling around Italy, having the chance to apprentice with various well-known chefs, is HUGE.)
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I don't know, people, I love this show. I like the challenges and that the personalities of the various cheftestants can make a big difference in outcome. The scenery, the food, the wine, beautiful Italy. I think laid-back, smiley Chef Gabe is a good co-judge for Alex, who really has her mean on, for some reason.
Of course, it's a ridiculous advantage for the Dinner Team to be able to sit and leisurely ruminate about their menu, be served the Lunch Team food, hear the critique. Whose bright idea was that?
Happy that Omar(?) making the best damn potatoes he could turn out secured his future "capo" position.
The thing I particularly liked in this third episode was the two women on the losing team refusing to name a choice for elimination. "I hate this, I think it's wrong, I'm not doing it." Naturally Alex blew a gasket, just as she had excoriated the woman who'd accepted responsibility for the duck and choked out through her tears that she was the logical evictee.
Anyway, I found it admirable to refuse to name the worst teammate. And I think it's weird that the men's team perceived that decision as a failing. "I wouldn't want to cook with someone like that." Knives out, eh, boys?
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See you all in July for more Lockup Love. Take care, frens.
Someone try to think of the name of that cat. : )
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BBQ Brawl - General Discussion
in BBQ Brawl
For some reason, I'm thinking the outdoorsy venue and the imprecise nature of grilling will have Sunny turned up to Chaos 11.
i agree that she was very dignified on the Military Chopped episodes, so we know she can do it, but I'm not counting on that kind of self-discipline in a show named Brawl.
If I can handle Sunny, I'm looking forward to watching Anne. She won't want to match Sunny's volume--how's she going to manifest her leadership?
(I admire Anne. I think she must've had a tough time getting to where she is.)