Daisychain

Happy to see the TCA nominations for Shogun (Program of the Year and Outstanding Achievement in Drama. And Outstanding New Program). Anna Sawai and Hiroyuki Sanada are competing against each other for Individual Achievement in Drama. Glad it isn't gendered, but at the same time Waaahhhh.

I was rewatching Season 2 (except for Fishes, you'd have to pay for a therapist, what an epic poem of dysfunction). I enjoyed Episode 8, Bolognese, the episode after Forks, one of the most rewarding tv episodes ever written and acted. Bolognese was the fire suppression test ep. The funny thing that I missed before was that the bottle of Pepto was kind of a Spirit Stick. Talk about your feelings? Here's the Pepto. Need to talk about your feelings? Hold this Pepto. Notably Marcus and T don't need the bottle of Pepto.

1. So stressful, you're not wrong @Mindthinkr. Rather than ciggies I would say therapy and anti-anxiety medication! 2. For some reason my banner ads to the side are for private plane travel??? Have they met me?? 3. I did make a decent omelette for lunch today, but it was over browned and not as floofy as Syd's. Also I did not own potato chips at the time (now I do)!

Well, I only made it through 3 episodes last night. Not delightful. I feel like Carmy in his anxiety and depression is bringing back everyone who made progress in Season 2, most specifically Richie, Marcus, and of all above Sydney. Please! So stressful and unenjoyable.

So I was quoted above with bolding, so I guess I'll respond. I hope I am misunderstanding some of the above but I'm worried that I haven't. @bravofan27, my only comment about Gail was that there had been some criticism about weight gain, and I don't think that is called for. The rest of the commentary about the show being about hard working, up-and-coming chefs v. [experienced/snobby] judges . . . what am I missing? I've watched the show since awful Season 1 and it is literally about new young talent coming up and being judged by more skilled, experienced, or famous chefs. That is the actual show. If I misunderstood you please just let me know, no problem.

There are so many thoughtful comments here that resonated with me. First, the edit. I am on Twitter solely to read, and I have never posted. It appears to me that Tom quote tweets (I am really not sure whether I'm getting that right) another poster criticizing the edit and then says the judges and he have no control about the edit. You cannot tell where the original poster posted that tweet to which Tom responded, so it seems a bit lame. I felt the edit bordered on cunning or dishonest, and it's not just because my daughter and SIL live in Wisconsin. It was a bit of a bait-and-switch for me; did not enjoy. Not all will agree. Second, Kristen - I think she has a lot of talent. She did a season of Iron Chef (something) with Alton Brown in which they were absolutely charming together. I'd give her a season or 2 to grow into the role and I don't think there will be a problem. If you think of poor Katie Lee almost having an anxiety attack on Season 1 and Padma having the horror show of Season 2 as her first appearance. Third, I do think it would behoove the show to go out and get a few strong, recurring guest star judges that come off and on from time to time, like Bourdain, Eric Ripert, Emeril, and Wolfgang Puck used to do. Would be nice to have some women chefs in that lineup (Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger were pretty awesome, but they didn't appear routinely). Then the audience gets to know them and trusts their judgment, and it adds interest and different points of view. I don't think all the guest judges should be prior competitors. Finally, fourth, let's give Gail a break, for heaven's sake. I don't think the dressers are doing her any favors but goodness, the woman gets paid to opine on food! My weight's been going up and down for 40 years, so I have nothing on Gail. Padma even cited the skyrocketing weight gain every season as one reason she quit. I tried that cranberry cleanse Padma used to lose post-season weight gain, and no. See you all next season - hoping for a tick up, you know?

Good golly what an embarrassment. Basically 6 of the 8 dishes either sucked eggs or were boring. Painful to watch. This season will not go down in Top Chef History in the top half. I was listening to the PYK podcast and they also discussed the question of defective ovens since the fish was almost universally undercooked. Or as @Irlandesa said, maybe there was some feature or quality they didn't know about. I do recall they had cooking challenges on that Alaska cruise in the Seattle season -- the cruise with Brooke, Sheldon and Stefan. I don't remember oven problems but I could be wrong. I don't mind Dan. He's going through a lot so I suppose he might puff up his chest from time to time. The best dish of the day was that sushi by Morimoto - I saw an Iron Chef episode in which he produced a really large square roll that became known as "stained-glass." He spent a huge amount of time on it and you didn't see the complexity until it was cut.

So, pre-pandemic I used to do a lot of speaking in Eau Claire, WI. My daughter was at U-dub and never left Madison (I'm in Chicago but no one does leave Madison FYI) so when I finished one Monday I drove down and met her and her bestie at a bar. We're having a great time and all of a sudden, at 10pm, they bring out a table. And I'm wondering, I guess they need to sit more people. Minutes later, it is shellfish boil and it was terrific. A lot of Old Bay must have given its all. What a treat! Plus fresh Midwestern corn in season and potatoes. It was crazy . . . here is your drink, here is your surprise. I have been trying to figure out which bar that was and if it still exists. I'm pretty sure it was a Monday because the next day I still had to drive to the office. Anyhoo, good times. I appreciated the Dish with Kish explanation of not getting rid of the scummy part because they were cooking their stock gently -- but as previous posters said, that belied the whole thing . . . WHY WOULD YOU BOIL FISH? I am sorry to say this because Manny seems like a lovely person, but I'd rather watch Soo cook something awful than Manny cook the same-ish dish again.

Of course the produce is exceptional - just brought home some delicious cheese and early lettuces.

Wow that was so un-fun to watch! You get my 2 Chicago chefs, Kaleena and Alisha, going down in a blaze of disgruntled non-glory. Dysfunction or unplanned planning on one side and intolerance and short-tempered on the other. I was so thankful that the judges and producers didn't choose to beat up again on the middle contestants. It's either this version of the website or the precursor that coined this the "recrap." No one needs the recrap, we already feel bad for them. Yes, @violet and green, my daughter, SIL, and brand new baby granddaughter live outside of Madison, We've been there many times. It was so fun to see the Frank Lloyd Wright, the state house, the hotels, the city square, and previews of the Dane County Farmer's Market, which takes place on the 4 sides of the State Capitol. I can tell you all 4 sides are long and that is going to be a sprint. I'm not young anymore so glad I don't need to sprint.

Thanks AnimeMaria for posting those characters/casting! Yes, I am in Central Zone (Chicago), and my Youtube.tv is showing the first episode at 9:00 pm. So that would be the FX airing and I assume Hulu is the same, but I haven't checked. Friends, it's finally here! Could not be more excited. I am happy to have read that Hiroyuki Sanada is a producer and had a lot of influence on the depiction of Japanese culture. I saw an interview with him and Anna Sawai and it was both insightful and sweet.

Mattipoo, I checked and I don't think there is an emoji for making a deal with the devil. It is not recommended. What the heck -- it makes it even weirder that he would keep procreating as opposed to a vasectomy. They just pretended it wouldn't happen. (Full body shudder.)

My brother and I were goofing off on Thanksgiving and went through the cast list on imdb.com. There were oddities about the episodes list -- i.e., Buntaro, Mariko's husband, is listed for 1 episode. I assume that is lack of data?

OMG I almost forgot to say that Malcolm Goodwin is also in Fall of the House of Usher, but his character is pretty Finlay -- altruistic and purposeful, even when he lacks power.

Me too. By the way, with regards to Season 1 -- I just finished watching the Fall of the House of Usher (huge achievement for me, I'm such an incredible fraidy cat, so afraid of scary stuff), and it took me awhile to realize that Roscoe from Season 1, who is tough and straightforward but loyal, brave, and truth-seeking, also played a character on House of Usher who is so ruthlessly cold you can almost freeze to death just while watching her performance (Willa Fitzgerald). She is not returning for season 2, unfortunately, that's not how Reacher operates.