Winter Rose

I've never understood it. I've heard that pudding was considered a coverall term for dessert but if that was the case, wouldn't nearly everything on this show, except for bread pretty much, qualify as a pudding? But then it seems that's not right either or else they wouldn't make a point to dedicate a week to puddings and the judges would never critique when something isn't a pudding.

I don't get the love for Liam either, that's more annoying to me than he is. I wouldn't go as far saying I hate him but I did think he was kind of a brat. I had a similar problem with the Brendan love. I was at least glad in the end that I wasn't the only one who found him smug, but I'm petty like that.

So I'm glad to see not much had changed without Mary, Mel, and Sue, as this is far and away my favorite baking show/competition. Noel and Sandi work well together and they turned out to be a surprisingly good fit within the show, my natural skepticism wouldn't have expected so at the start. Prue's fine and I can respect her "firm but fair" but I haven't fully warmed up to her yet. I think if she had been there all along, instead of having to follow Mary, it wouldn't be a problem but I miss Mary's warmth. The contestants were enjoyable enough, I wouldn't say I loved or hated anyone. The only thing, for me, is I think Steven and Sophie were always so far ahead of everybody else that it seemed like it was never not going to be them in the final, with the third spot for whoever managed not to be the worst. Though I was surprised that Steven struggled so much and just as surprised at how well Kate held her own. I actually thought the win could've gone either way between Kate and Sophie and I wonder what it actually was that decided it. Maybe that Kate picked the worst way to do her piping in the technical and ran out of time.

The funny thing is, in one of the interviews posted earlier in this thread, James had talked about how he and Paul didn't always see eye to eye and that Paul often got annoyed that James was so laid back in his approach. I think because James impressed, despite often winging it, even Paul couldn't help giving praise when praise was due. The judges have also said repeatedly, across the entire show, that they look for originality, which James certainly offered, even John too. I think they see it as anyone can bake something well if they follow a tried and true recipe but these bakers, although amateurs, are on a higher level than just following a recipe.

John deserved his win. It was close but he had a pretty perfect finish on his showstopper. But even though they always say it comes down to the showstopper, I think the signature also had him in front because they mentioned that Brendan's had caught a little on the sides. (Maybe John also won over the male judge by saying he was using his technique on the pastry.) I'm also happy for him just because it sounded like his own family was actively rooting against him. I would've been more moved by Brendan's story with his showstopper if he didn't act so high and mighty about his skills as a baker. Obviously he's good, he wouldn't be on the show if he wasn't. But John and James could give the others their due, John thinking James would win while still praising Brendan's consistency and James thinking John and Brendan showed more skill but just hoped his own baking was good. Whereas Brendan couldn't reiterate enough that he's experienced and that in time James will get better at presentation, as though age was why he thought James' presentation in the signature was worse than his. Maybe Brendan's a nicer person in real life but competition doesn't bring out the best in him. Sadly for James, I think he was doomed from the signature. Even though he won the technical, it was a very low bar. But I think his fifth cake alone could've been his showstopper and whether or not that would've changed the outcome, maybe he would've gone out on a better note. Even if it's not enough to win, I always hope all the finalists have strong showstoppers. But in total, he still has the most wins of the season and made it to the final, so there's definitely a lot to be proud of. Also, fondant fancies sound disgusting. Marzipan, butter cream, and fondant yet the male judge complains that American pies are too sweet.

I'm sad to see Danny go, she would've been the one I was rooting for in the final. But it was the right decision, unfortunately nothing went right for her. And using floral flavors seems to backfire more often than they work out. In spite of John's bad first round, he was second in the technical and did well in the showstopper, so I don't think he was really in trouble despite the judges acting like he was. I also think it's great that this is something he wants to do as more than a hobby. I like how he clearly wants to learn and doesn't just act like his way is right and everyone else is wrong. I also like James's creativity. Even with his slightly winging it, he still seems to have a gist of what he's doing and it actually leaves him room to adjust if things go wrong. I'd be happy with either James or John winning.

If this was an American competition, Brendan would be my pick to say "I'm not here to make friends." Him saying there's a few contestants he's "keeping an eye on" but otherwise acts like he knows better because he's older was really off-putting. And if he becomes paranoid about the others, his own work will suffer. He definitely has the skills and he's very consistent, I expect he'll make it to the final, but it's been a running theme with him that his design ideas are dated in the judges' eyes. And when contestants keep doing the thing they're told not to do, it catches up to them eventually.

It wasn't just that Brendan only made a house, using cereal for the roof was also a bit of a shortcut and not very impressive to look at. It's a shame that Cathryn was never able to pick it back up once things started going wrong. But I thought how she expected her kids to react to her elimination was really sweet, that her daughter would be sad because she thinks her mom's the greatest while her son would just be happy to have her home again. I did love the way James sold his gingerbread barn, as well as question if his birthday was why he won Star Baker. Ultimately, they wanted something structurally sound that tastes good and that's what he delivered. And he was on top in the other challenges as well, so I'd say his win wasn't only because of his birthday. John's Colosseum also deserves a shout out.

It was nice to see Danny finally get some recognition. She's been very quietly consistent and was at the top in all three challenges this week. Sarah Jane was definitely the obvious one to send home but it was sad watching her and Cathryn hug each other goodbye. They seemed to have struck up a real friendship. I think the other one could've been a toss up between Ryan and John but by the looks of it, Ryan's showstopper really let him down. I wonder if he's the first person to get a handshake and get eliminated in the same episode. I also wonder if John's finger was still bothering him but good for him for hanging on. This is the second time I had an episode with the history segment. Although I'd rather hear about doughnuts than eel pies but unfortunately, while I liked doughnuts as a kid, I don't like them anymore.

Maybe I'm still salty from last week but I also thought Paul was particularly awful this week. Though it did sound like the first round was a disaster almost all around but that wasn't constructive criticism. It was fun seeing Sarah Jane and Cathryn having fun with the dough slapping, even though Cathryn accidentally threw hers. She doesn't bother me actually, I don't think she's another Ruby. I'd be nervous to be professionally judged too, especially when Paul gets on a roll with the criticisms, but I don't think she has a bad attitude. I'm glad no one got eliminated, I've seen other shows make accommodations for injuries. And even though John was towards the bottom, I don't think he incidentally weaseled out of elimination. Personally I thought James was the worst this week.

I swear it felt like Paul just wanted an excuse to act like he's "above" American desserts. And to say something along the lines of the only way to make an American pie good is to make it British?! I know that's not word for word but still, a huge part of this show's appeal for me is the people not insulting each other (and other cultures). I think at times he's more influenced by his personal tastes than if the bake is actually baked well. This and bin-gate are probably the only two episodes I actively didn't enjoy. I'm happy for Ryan that they liked his key lime pie, and I know a showstopper probably should be more memorable, but I have suspected before that the showstopper is weighted more heavily and the technical is weighted the least.

I'm honestly surprised Stuart even lasted this long. He seemed to put so much pressure on himself to be the best that it was like a self-sabotage. I like Danny though, I think she's been going unnoticed. It obviously didn't hurt his winning Star Baker but I had to agree with the judges that Brendan's signature bake looked old fashioned. There's an old picture of me at my grandparents' house when I was a baby and their kitchen was the colors on Brendan's cake.

I was sorry to see Victoria struggle so much when she started off so well. But unfortunately she did have the worst week, I don't think the technical was enough of a boost when they said everyone was really close. Though I wouldn't have minded seeing Brendan go, I'm sorry but I sense a coldness or a bitterness from him. Even though the showstoppers aren't going to be as elaborate as future seasons, I enjoy just seeing a nice looking bake. I thought a lot of those tarts were pretty. James certainly deserved his Star Baker. I really don't think anyone else was in the running, even though they usually say a few names. He was on top the whole time.

Maybe I just didn't notice before but do the early episodes often skip some of the judging because there's so many contestants? I'm a bit disappointed that I didn't get to see the judging for all of the bagels. Bagels also seems like a strange choice for a showstopper, I'd expect them to be more of a signature. I thought the technical was a more exciting bake.

For so long, the first three seasons of this show always felt like a myth, so I'm excited to finally see one of them. Although because of how they did the seasons here, it's kind of strange hearing Paul say the challenges this year are harder than ever and Mary saying she's never seen striped piping on a cake. I admit I kind of took a disliking to Stuart. I get that it's a competition but he sounded like someone buying into his own hype and then nearly gets eliminated.

It was an interesting listen. I don't think there's anything wrong with shipping in itself and I do believe that once an author releases their story to the public, they no longer control how it's received. I don't enjoy writers who try to police their fans. However, that doesn't give fans the right to act like they know the story better than the writers, to demand that writers conform to a certain outcome, or attack fellow fans who see the story a different way. Nor does it entitle anyone to brag about being right before ever being proved right. I can sympathize with being disappointed a story didn't go the way one had hoped but theories don't always pan out and sometimes there isn't only one explanation for something. The secret episode stuff though always made me think of doomsday sayers who always move the goalposts when the end of the world doesn't come.

Even so, I already said I hold the unpopular opinion of not minding the resolution to the S1 cliffhanger, in part because it was a stepping stone to TRF where Staying Alive did come up again, and I don't think it tried to invalidate what came before. But generally speaking, I think writers in the best position to resolve cliffhangers are the ones who wrote them. That doesn't mean they do, just that chances are better. I've wondered if the absence of a third writer with TAB and S4 (even S3, while Thompson wrote part of TSoT, it was still minimal input) also allowed some of Moffat and Gatiss' poorer writing habits to come out. HLV, for example, is one I enjoy as an episode but it makes a mess of the overarching plot... with a further mess made here in TST. Apparently at the US Sherlocked Con it was said that TST was intended to be structurally different. I think more elaborate transitions and told out of order but pretty late in the process of making this episode, they decided it wouldn't work, so it might've affected what became the final broadcast. A detailed account of it can be found here: http://fffinnagain.tumblr.com/post/174328502023/rachel-talalay-and-the-case-of-the-missing It's hard to say if these transitions would've made TST a better episode, it sounds like they were always going for something needlessly complicated. But maybe it might've felt less... off if what aired was the episode they set out to make.

Benedict Cumberbatch: It's "weak" to blame fans for the pressures of celebrity

I think it's going underappreciated simply because it's in S4 but I really do think The Lying Detective was a highlight, and the best post-TRF episode. Meanwhile the premieres and finales of S1 and S2 are still some of my favorite TV that I've seen.

I think it's one of those, it was a blessing and a curse that the show was so successful right out of the gate. That level of success always meant expectations were high so inevitably more and more pressure would be put to maintain that level of quality. It definitely seemed with S3 and S4 that they kept trying to one-up themselves in terms of spectacle. And while I looked for, and could find some, bits to like, they seemed to move further away from compelling characterization and more towards Big Scenes. I can only hope they've gotten that out of their systems and if there is a S5, that it would be closer to S1 and S2 in spirit. I don't know how aware they are about why a lot of people didn't like S4, I doubt anyone would be eager to bask in all the negativity surrounding their work, plus they've moved onto other projects. But fans who took to twitter to complain about Sherlock and John not getting together, who spammed the accounts of the cast and crew, who insisted on a secret episode to fix S4, who tried to get Norbury trending to call out the show for queerbaiting, I think may have drowned out anyone who didn't like S4 for reasons other than shipping. And while not representative of all the fans, I can see how that could contribute to them not having a high opinion of fandom.

I was thinking about this, among skimming the Jess hate fest, and I've never considered RJ an opposites attract type couple. Yeah, he's the "bad boy" from the city and she's the "good girl" from a small town but I always liked that that wasn't what attracted them to each other. It was what they had in common. I like to think for Jess it was when he saw her book collection and I think for Rory, her first sign of intrigue (not falling for him yet, just piquing her interest) was when he told her he read Howl about 40 times. That's one of my favorite RJ scenes, also because I just love Girl from Mars.

Part of it was the friends first that was the foundation of both LL and RJ. Despite Jess being a jerk early on, even then he was still capable of little ways to show he cared (fixing Luke's toaster, taking out the ringer snowman, presumably getting Rory's picture removed as the face of censorship at the video store, unlocking the diner so the town could have a wake for Louie, the sprinklers, coming to Liz's wedding for Luke's sake). Luke was also sarcastic and standoffish, who would outwardly put up a fight but would ultimately come through for the people he cared about. And Logan and Christopher were fun and exciting, albeit irresponsible. They were both from the high society world, badmouthing it but still benefiting from it, then escaping it before coming back to it. I'm not saying everyone has the exact same personalities, or that the revival didn't go too literal with it because I certainly think it did, but in a very general sense, I just think the paralleling in the roles they played in Lorelai's and Rory's respective lives didn't spontaneously come out of nowhere just for the revival.

I don't like full circle endings on principle, it seems pointless to watch a show passed its pilot if history's just going to repeat itself, but I thought Jess=Luke // Logan=Christopher since the OS.

I've always been indifferent to Monica/Chandler. I didn't really like the character Monica became in the later seasons but I appreciated how they were able to be together as a couple and stay that way. They're one of the only couples I can think of (outside of couples who start off on a show already together) where they didn't need to break them up to keep them interesting. However, I thought them sneaking around dragged on for too long and I loathe TOW Everybody Finds Out. The whole "but they don't know that we know that they know that we know" on and on and on crap wasn't funny, it was annoying. I've never seen it but the 24 hour marathon that they do every year, and worse when multiple channels are doing it, have made me never want to see it.

I saw the first episode and enjoyed it well enough. I was about to watch the second one but saw Damiano was one of the judges so I turned it right off. I guess I'll have to try again next week.