[S21.E04: The Wright Way]

14 hours ago, MsJamieDornan said:

And she needs sleeves.

Why?

[S21.E04: The Wright Way]

Ha! I loved how they were just like, we can't even pretend there's a top set and bottom set. It was abrupt but better than drawing it out. Switching it up is good, keeps the chefs on their toes.

I don't think it was a bad challenge. If anything it was too wide open but that's a creativity problem not a challenge problem! (Blank pages can be the hardest for an artist.) They didn't have to tie it to FLW visually or do anything fancy -- they could do anything, as long the two dishes made sense as a contrasting pair.  There was a real failure of imagination AND execution here.

I was especially stymied by comfortable / uncomfortable, which they mashed up with compression / release when they presented. The concept was muddled. What does an uncomfortable dish mean? Surely one weird flavor doesn't meet that bar.  Compression / release may have seemed too obvious for them, having been given it as an example, but that was a stronger duality. A dense element (steak would have still worked) with a (literally) compressed fruit/veg, paired with a dish that was airy -- something like a foam, meringue, froth, whip etc. Compact vs. open, low vs. tall, precise versus billowing. The house was cute and very FLW in style, but it didn't create a duality.

I wanted to see someone play with earth, the harmony of the natural world and the built world, which was the heart of his work. (The not-egg dish, with its black rice soil was the closest there.) Land / sea could have been reframed as earth / water or earth / air, like the elements -- that might have taken them somewhere better.

 

[The Dish With Kish]

On 4/11/2024 at 1:22 PM, susannot said:

Buddha's Napolean Guggenheim was stunning.

Yes! The episode chefs were not expected to make things that looked architectural but I loved that Buddha went there. That was so perfectly simple but clearly FLW.

2 hours ago, buttersister said:

Yep, Kish is magic, Buddha did not suck.

Aw, I like Buddha! I get why he's not everyone's cup of tea but I see him as cerebral and conceptual, not snobby -- and I dig that.

Very similarly, I have a soft spot for Marcel too. He was annoying as a young contestant but I appreciated his curiosity and unconventional nature. Glad to see him here, grown up into a more settled and authentic version of himself. Twenty years will do that to you! He's looking good.

[S21.E03: Take It Cheesy]

Color me surprised that Michelle's dish was the crowd fav! I figured that collards, no matter how good they are, wouldn't have as much broad appeal as the other two.

FWIW, I see croquettes on menus quite often (I live outside of San Francisco) so that's not a "in the past" dish to me. I love them! Were we counting the arancini as one of the croquette crew? Different core ingredient but the same effect -- fried starch and cheese ball.

 

[Season 21: Last Chance Kitchen]

On 3/30/2024 at 1:06 PM, Bastet said:

Yes, in the Colorado season Marcel, Kwame, Jenn, and Lee Anne competed in LCK and Lee Anne wound up joining the regular competition.  I remember it happening, but not any details; according to what I read in a brief internet search, the timing - of how many LCK competitions before joining the main competition in progress - seems to have been the same as what's going to happen this season.

To me the strongest theory is it's a variant on Colorado, making it possible to enter partway through via LCK as a wild card -- Lee Ann and Brother entered new seasons that way. (And they were not very welcome. The remaining chefs were pissed.) Whether or not David participated, I am sure Soo was already on deck. They wanted a surprise 16th.

They said a few times in the beginning that this season will have different rules -- like no immunity for QF wins, etc. They did the same in Vegas adding new high stakes game play, and later with sudden death QFs. I believe they're just trying to switch it up and add new twists.

[S21.E01: Chef's Test]

On 3/21/2024 at 9:25 AM, dleighg said:

His idea of stuffing gnocchi made no sense; I couldn't believe TWO PEOPLE thought that was a good idea.

I realize we don't see all the rules -- and this clearly was in-bounds since the judges didn't say anything -- but how in the world is gnocchi considered pasta?

On 3/23/2024 at 6:29 PM, marybennet said:

I thought a great moment was when Tom asked how long pasta team had been working and Kristen, intuiting what he meant, asked if that was because hat guy should have been long finished rolling out his pasta.

Gnocchi bafflement, take two. He was rolling it hard, and you don't roll gnocchi flat like that! You kind of gently make snakes out of it, to keep it light and fluffy. Smashing it with a rolling pin is presumably how how made it "filled" but the texture must have been terrible.

They had nothing positive to say about his dish and the other two were overall good but with a massive flaw. He deserved to go home without the cook-off.

On 3/24/2024 at 6:56 PM, stewedsquash said:

One more confusion and then I am done. French guy. How is it that he has done the French version and now the American version? I get that last year was international contestants. But for the countries that have their own version can others compete? If French guy lives in France could he have gone to Brazil this year to compete there? Or does he live in the US now and that’s why he can compete in the US version this year? Dual citizenship? Could Kwame decide to go to France and compete in the French version? I don’t have a problem with it I just don’t recall it happening before.

I don't know the rules but it has happened before at least once -- Claudette competed in TC Mexico and TC US Season 15. She did them pretty much back to back, according to her bio, both in 2017-18.

[S21.E02 Living the High Life]

Wonder how Joe Flamm felt about being scripted to say you can't go wrong ordering a High Life at a Michelin star restaurant. Those sponsor dollars are mighty powerful!

On 3/28/2024 at 10:33 PM, ALittleShelfish said:

The female chef who tried the "I say WIS - you say CONSIN!" fueled me with irrational angst when I heard that.  I'll probably still cheer for her, there don't seem to be any standout villains at the moment, so I'll chalk it up to "dumb things people on television say". 

What I heard her say was "I say WIN you say consin" which was at least a little cute. But, yes, dumb TV thing.

[S01.E07: Seance Anything]

On 4/6/2023 at 2:09 AM, tired and hungry said:

We're finally seeing Mr. Martin's true colors. He's definitely keeping the spirits from helping Maddie and trying to hinder them. I think Mr. Martin too can speak to humans and is giving updates on what Maddie is figuring out to that person. (Or maybe he is making some kind of notes to leave behind as in the last scene he's seen with some papers)

Did not expect... (spoiler just in case)

  Hide contents

...Dawn to cross over. She's been there the longest so its good that she's finally at peace. 

 

It made sense to me that Dawn crossed over after finding peace. I don't know if Mr Martin is evil - though what's with the IT'S MY JOB to take care of all of you bit, why is it his job? -- but preventing them from looking back keeps them from healing and reaching closure so they are ready to leave. Maybe a psych professor can die next and help out?

Dawn isn't the one who's been there the longest! Rhonda said she's been there 60 years, which tracks with her beatnik vibe, putting here there about 10 years before early-70s Dawn.

[S01.E06: Grave The Last Dance]

This show is so much better than I expected!

On 9/6/2023 at 3:05 PM, Anela said:

I like the football guy, but she's only been dead for two weeks, and she's around the people she loved, almost every day. I wouldn't expect her to be ready for someone new, when they haven't even found her body, and she's trying to figure out what happened to her. 

Not only not ready for someone new -- remember she was in love with her BF two weeks ago -- but also certainly not ready to accept and move on with an afterlife when they haven't even solved her murder. That's obviously going to preoccupy her! Instead of dissuading her I'd think the ghosts would actively want to help her solve it, if only for something interesting to do. THEN she can settle into their support group.

I legit do not know how this will end and am really not even guessing; I'm just along for the ride. But I just finished Travelers and I really don't like seeing lovely and kind "David" as a shady character here -- and I'm not sold on his alibi either. (They called it a solid alibi, but when he was talking to Claire outside his house he said something like he told the police he was with his father, which is not the same as actually being with him.)

[S19.E12: We're on a Boat]

On 5/22/2022 at 8:24 PM, Colleenna said:

Well, darn. I was sad to see Nick go, but I'd have been sadder had it been  Damarr. 

But... TUCSON!!! The in-laws  live there (ALL of them,  and that's a butt-load of people). I've actually eaten at El Charro, many years ago when my MIL and FIL were  still alive.  Please, please,  no nopalitos. The thought makes me gag.

Total agreement on Nick vs. Damarr.

El Charro is legendary, I've eaten there many many times. Excited to see them go to where I grew up! It's not an epic finale locale but times being what they are...

On 5/21/2022 at 4:56 PM, Rai said:

Nick was one of my early faves, so I'm bummed that he's gone. The way he talked this whole episode about the opportunity and disappointment is one of the reasons why I got attached so early. He just seems like a warm, committed dude, and I dig it.

Watching Nick throughout and in his final talking head -- what a lovely human he is, just good of heart and spirit. And perhaps unfairly, one of the reasons I was rooting more for Damarr in this match-up is that Nick is the older brother. He won a fair bit of money on the show. He knows who he is. Everyone benefits from the title boost, but I think Nick has it going on already. Damarr is still coming up.

On 5/20/2022 at 11:38 AM, ProudMary said:

Honestly, this may be what I like about Buddha most of all!

Yes, I love that Buddha studies! To me that's a reason to like him more not think his wins are diminished because it.  I love that he does his homework and is analytical and yet also conceptual and whimsical. He's someone I'd hang out with.

[S02.E12/13: As The World Burns / Against Time]

On 2/20/2024 at 7:22 PM, Linderhill said:

agreed.  It's all devolved into a sulky child's tantrum.

UGH. It's OTT cartoon villain origin story, a single event (that he has wrong anyway) gave him rage to fuel a lifetime of machinations to lead to This Moment. It struck such a sour note. It's like a different show IMO.

On 2/20/2024 at 8:04 PM, KaveDweller said:

I was wondering why they didn't point out to Jeffery that Ben gave him more time with his father. It wasn't like his father lived a long life and Ben accidentally got him killed.

I realize "he was going to die anyway, and earlier" is a lame rebuttal to "you killed my dad" but...yeah. Now, if Ben could have tried to save Josh and didn't, that would have actually made more sense for Gideon's rant! The character development here is just so bad.

On 2/21/2024 at 1:03 PM, StaceyNotStacie said:

Gideon turning out to be Hannah’s son was somewhat predictable after the son being such a big part of the first episode. I was surprised that we didn’t get an older Hannah in real time or some acknowledgment as to whether or not she was still alive in 2024.

I figured that the kid would be important -- and in fact that's who I assumed the leap was for when we met him, not the brothers. Same with the fire, when they said there was more to the leap. Never occurred to me he would be Gideon, mostly because I had tuned out that plot and forgot there was a Gideon.

I have to assume Hannah died young, and didn't live to see this whole fake life of vengeance her son created.

On 2/21/2024 at 7:08 PM, KaveDweller said:

I wonder how much time has passed for Ben. Hannah made a comment about it being a couple weeks of knowing her for him. If so, it could only be a month or two for him that the whole series took place.

On 2/22/2024 at 6:55 PM, DoctorAtomic said:

Upthread, it was mentioned that since the first meeting with Hannah, only something like 9 days passed. It doesn't seem like there's 24 hour staff there. That's a lot going on.

I think she said it had only been 7 days for her? Meaning 7 days of her life spent with him on leaps, over the many years. Hard to say how many months have elapsed in HQ time -- I'd appreciate having more dialogue markers for things like that.

[S02.E02: It’s The Work I Signed Up For]

On 3/12/2024 at 5:56 PM, Orbert said:

I must have missed that.  If it's been six months, then it's not unreasonable for Angie to be back on the job.

Yes they said 6 months in the first episode, though the doctor noted that the first 2 she was in bed as part of his reasoning for why he wouldn't sign off on it. (That, and nerve pain in her arm.)

In this episode, she was not actually back on duty. Amanda called that out, and it's why she went with.  But now Amanda agreed to support her returning to duty.

Y'all have more faith in the screening of cops for mental stability than I do.

[S02.E01: Me Llamo Will Trent]

WHAT WAS THAT, SHOW?! Just rude killing off Cricket like that.

On 2/23/2024 at 3:51 PM, Acmeproducts said:

Yes, I think Will sounds like he is from New Orleans. I don’t know why Ramon made that choice.

It didn't sound Georgia but I didn't give any real thought to what it did sound like -- that's it.

On 2/22/2024 at 9:53 AM, roughing it said:

Why does everyone talk so fast?  Especially Sonia Sohn, she flies across her scenes and you can barely understand what she is saying.  I get that her character is intense, but Sonia takes it way too far, IMO.

Do they? They sound normal to me!

On 2/23/2024 at 10:32 AM, Acmeproducts said:

I think that is fitting for Angie. 

It's totally in character for Angie not to care that her hair looks a mess. She has this cute new cut and still it's a wreck.

There was so much commentary on The Diplomat about the lead needing to brush her hair, too, and it's a little extreme but character styling always is. Will wears a dull three piece suit, Faith wears quirky sweater vests, Angie has unwashed bird's nest hair. Each choice is telegraphing something distinct about the character.

They've had a lot of fun developing Faith's style as one of contrasts. Everything is very conservative in coverage (collars, high necks, layers), but she plays with eye-catching patterns and details. She pairs grandma knits with corporate button ups crowned by a revolving door of young, creative hair styles. (Where I think they've dropped the ball is making her style SO distinctive, without making the character live up to that vibe. I like Faith fine, but she doesn't seem to be the bold, expressive, creative type her wardrobe would indicate.)

[S01.E13: A Bad Temper And A Hard Heart]

On 6/21/2023 at 3:24 PM, Ceindreadh said:

IIRC, they mentioned that after the events of the first episode that there'd been a feature article on Will which mentioned him having been found in a trashcan.  James must have seen it and realised that Will had survived.

I'm so glad this comment section helped me out with this detail! I missed where the photo we saw came from and didn't remember the article.

There had to be a trigger, some reason he was doing this to lure / hurt Will at this moment in time and not before. This tracks.
 

On 1/25/2024 at 6:44 PM, mrsbagnet said:

In episode 3, the team meets an old friend of Amanda's who is a journalist. Amanda never explicitly explains the nature of their relationship, but the way the two of them interact, plus some comments Faith makes, heavily imply that Amanda and the journalist had a sexual relationship. When Faith tries to ask about her about it, Amanda tells her, "Mind your business."

Yes, I left that scene 100% sure that Amanda was getting busy with the journalist, and not for the first time. We also know that Amanda was married, Faith's mom mentioned that Trent was her maiden name. Did we learn who she was married to?

I liked this show! I agree it's disjointed at times but I like the characters. We've certainly seen the oddball, trauma-survivor, hyper observant detective before but Will manages to feel a little different. I like that he has more humor and big-heartedness than this type of character is often given.

[S18.E12: The Cheesier the Better]

After we get everyone to say (and caption) gougère properly we can move on to mascarpone! Please and thank you.
 

On 7/1/2021 at 5:53 PM, biakbiak said:

In the past people could help before they served but not help after they had. In the case of them just standing there where else would they go? They have to wait around for judge’s table. 

Yes they always pack their knives and leave the kitchen after presenting, so help is only available from those who haven't gone yet. Watching Jamie help two of them plate, it occurred to me it's a significant advantage to go early -- there is more of a chance someone will stop their prep and help you. By the end, they are no extra hands.

[Downsizing (2017)]

On 3/1/2019 at 10:09 PM, JBC344 said:

 

One thing that was bugging me.  In the Norwegian colony at the final dinner when the Dr. shouted out Little Ronnie, and Ronnie stood up with what looked like an open red sore on his lip.  Was that some allusion to an abnormality or an STD (herpes)?  A call back to Christopher Waltz's character telling us how promiscuous he was?

 

That got a chuckle out of me! To me it was definitely herpes, because he was promiscuous

I didn't love or hate it -- it felt disjointed and needed an editor but it also made me think. It helps that I knew nothing at all about it until finding it on streaming, so I had zero advertising to mislead me.

[Royal Pains - General Discussion]

On 2/22/2024 at 8:26 AM, Raja said:

It turns out Netflix has it too. 

All these years later while watching the early seasons with Divya's engagement still you would fully expect the normal TV trope for her and Evan to be a couple by the forth season.

Currently re-watching the series and had the same thought! Based on how hard they went with the put-downs it seems like the writers were setting that up and changed their minds. (And because I've forgotten at least 90% of the plot lines, I didn't realize that wouldn't ultimately happen until he gets serious with Paige.)

[S17.E01: It's Like They Never Left!]

On 3/20/2020 at 3:26 PM, Bastet said:

With time on my hands, I looked up how they all finished during their previous appearances (according to Wikipedia):

Jennifer Carroll - Fourth place (four went to the finale, but only Kevin, Brian, and Michael [who ultimately won] got to compete all the way through it), season 6, and 17th place (second person eliminated) in season 8 (all stars)

 

She has one other season, which might not technically count as TC -- she was also a returning contestant in Last Chance Kitchen in Season 15, Colorado. She didn't make it back in.

[S01.E04: Birds of a Feather]

On 2/22/2021 at 8:13 AM, ctlady said:

This is a habit I never understood.  What's the point?  Between pockets and purses, why does one need to keep keys to their house and car in thier UNLOCKED car?

 

Because if you leave them in the unlocked car, you can't lose them and never get locked out. (What that means for house keys, which are usually connected to car keys, I don't know.)

I'm just now watching this series. Not sure I'm sold. I'm weirded out by how weird he is. I mostly like it but my cringe meter is having a hard time.

[Kings From Queens: The Run DMC Story - General Discussion]

This was good!  Definitely worth a watch.

[S16.E09: Music City USA]

On 1/31/2019 at 8:25 PM, avecsans said:

I do not like these personal challenges because, like tonight, they often devolve into sob stories. I really just want to watch them cook.

I'm glad Michelle wasn't derailed by this one. I feel bad for the chefs when the challenge hits on their trauma. The family challenges always run that risk -- not everyone has positive memories and it has sent cheftestants into spirals.

On 1/31/2019 at 10:22 PM, HurricaneVal said:

I realize this is a big competition, but it was really irresponsible for Adrienne to continue to cook and serve food while so very sick.  She should have asked if she could take a bye on the comp.  There is no way she should have gone on to cook and serve that food after having been sick enough to still be vomiting earlier in the and obviously diaphoretic and shaky.  If she hadn't taken herself out, production should have stepped in and removed her.  Maybe she was just car sick, and medical cleared her from her earlier sickness, but I doubt that happened, since they continued to highlight how awful she was feeling, and how weak and sick she still was.

That was completely irresponsible.

Health departments across the country have a difficult enough time getting food service workers to stay home when ill, now Top Chef celebrates that bad decision.

It looked even worse from the other side of Covid! I realize this is how kitchens and chefs usually do things, but it's not okay.

[The Holdovers (2023)]

On 1/2/2024 at 11:12 AM, Sarah 103 said:

The fact that the invitation came from a parent's classmate may have been all the information the parents needed in 1970 to say yes.  

I think this is right -- it's the 70s and a trusted school, many parents would have been fine with it (possibly because they feel guilty about the holidays). The one I'm not sure I buy is the LDS missionaries agreeing to it. That boy is more likely to be at the school simply because the parents were living out of the country not because they are part of that social set.
 

On 1/1/2024 at 4:08 PM, AngieBee1 said:

Ye-Joon's parents were overseas and didn't want him to travel alone. The Mormon kid parents were overseas on a mission. 

I believe it was Korea and Paraguay.

On 12/31/2023 at 2:22 PM, methodwriter85 said:

It kind of felt pointless to even set up the group of guys if they were going to send them off through Christmas. I kind of wish they had at least kept one of the younger guys around through the end of the storyline.

Yeah I might have preferred no other kids left behind but it did work to make Angus extra rejected when they all escape. However, once introduced, IMO the storyline wouldn't have worked with one of the young ones staying -- it would have changed the dynamic too much. Paul wouldn't have agreed to Boston, they wouldn't have had the adult conversations. Paul would have remained more closed off if there were more boys. And Angus, too.

[The Indiana Jones movies]

I thought it was pretty good! Definitely a step up from Crystal Skull.

De-aging CGI has really come a long way, that's for sure. I appreciated that we saw an old man who was less spry than he once was but still wily. The FBI underestimated him, which is right for the character. (He underestimated / over-trusted his goddaughter, also right for the character.) The villains were cartoon cutouts, but they always are in Indy films. Good sidekicks, and loved seeing Sallah.

[S35.E12: A Sunset, Seattle Scramble]

On 12/13/2023 at 11:47 PM, Fukui San said:

Also, as a fellow, ahem, portly gentleman, even more so than Rob, I would not be able to complete that Grab task even for a billion dollars with a month to try to do it.  Steve would have had a tough time.

I don't think my physical form would have been able to do that at all. (Same with the massage -- that would have been physically unsafe for my back, and even if it hadn't created injury some of those moves would surely have given me a debilitating sciatica flareup. I know my body, and that would have damaged it.)

Then again, my physical form means I would never have made it through the race at all lol.

On 12/14/2023 at 5:28 PM, vousviou said:

I didn't think I had a problem, but when I went to the CN Tower in Toronto, it has a section of the observation deck with a glass floor. You can see how thick it is, but stepping on it and looking down still gave me a serious case of the creeps. I can't blame anyone on the show who struggles.

I loooove those views! It was maybe Corey who said he was taking a beat to take it in because "when will I ever have this kind of view again" and I thought...just come back tomorrow and you can see most of it from the observation deck.

On 12/17/2023 at 6:59 PM, QuantumMechanic said:

You'd be surprised.  I have a friend who's a director at Meta and we've talked about what comp packages are these days and you might be amazed what even right-out-of-school compensation is at the FAANGs. $250+K total comp starting out is not a rare thing.  It's a whole other world.

Yeah, I live in Silicon Valley and know a lot of tech folks. I can't speak to entry level but a friend at Google earns 250K (they have more years of experience, but not in a tech role) and others in mid/senior but not management tech roles can earn 400K+. (I don't remember if both are at Google but at least one is.)

Need has nothing to do with it, and shouldn't have anything to do with it. They earned this! It's a competition they wanted to experience and they did. But yeah sure they don't "need" it as much as a delivery driver trying to get a service dog for his special needs child. With their publicity he'll surely be able to achieve that goal.

[S35: Rob and Corey McArthur]

On 12/10/2023 at 10:02 PM, kav said:

I have 2 questions I am curious about with them.  I am wondering if Rob gave anyone on the race any ASL sign names and what his and Corey's are, and in the last episode with the poetry, I assume whoever said if his part was right knows ASL, and for him what would have been considered wrong for that task.  I am guessing misspelling of any words that needed to be spelled out would not count as wrong.

I found it surprising that at one point I thought I saw Rob sign out "roadblock" using individual letters. (But not knowing ASL, maybe I got that wrong.) I would have expected them to create some custom gestures for key race terms (and competitors). Seeing how Tasha did that on GBBO it made a lot of sense. Both fun and expedient!

I was also a little surprised throughout how little not being able to hear affected their performance. The glass blowing in the finale looked like one of the tougher situations -- the ability to hear your partner say "keep turning" or "stop blowing" without looking up or using hands would have been helpful! But they made it through without a big deal.