Aulty

Nooooooo, not Neil 😣 TBF he didn't have a great week and I understand why they picked him, but still. I like Pide when the filling is a bit more creative than the traditional ones. Fair to say, I liked what I saw the bakers did a lot. The technical was sponsored by the artificial colours board, and I am not keen on macarons - so it was a mixed bag of a week. But still very straight forward with the challenges and no idiotic sculpting tasks. Keep them coming. I want one of the Bake Offs to do a week based food from prominent books or movies. are we (the viewers) getting a bit bored with funny presenters in general, or are they just not the right kind of funny. I even find Mel and her puns on that woodworking show a bit boring sometimes.

I just want to highlight this, because that's exactly what I thought when I watched it. DT always wearing glasses as Crowley needs to do a lot with body language, and he does it so well, but Michael in that sequence was a masterclass.

I enjoyed the side plots more than the main story - it dragged on a bit, didn't it? And it was one of those 'everything is revealed in the end' affairs. The play between C and A wasn't as playful with an undercurrent of forbidden as it was in the first series. At least not until the end. TBH I think the setup for a potential series 3 has peeked my interest more already than this one. Zombies I can do without, and there should've been a funnier, flirtier sequence from the past to counterbalance the body snatcher bit. I loved the seamstress bit.

Miriam Shor ❤️❤️

Oh dear, I was afraid Neil was up for the chop this time, but his flavours (his show stopper looked so yummy) did manage to put him ahead of Reem. She is a good baker too, but we are now at the point where every elimination is going to be tough. The citrus theme was very enjoyable. It, again, gave them room to bring a variety of techniques and bakes to the showstopper. Compare that to GBBO showstoppers where elaborate construction tasks has half the bakers use gingerbread, the other half shortbread and everyone use a metric tonne of artificially coloured icing.

And Emma is one of die Barbies.

As contrived as this story was, I don't blame Charlotte for doing a condom delivery following that phone call. Ideally Charlotte would already have provided her daughter with a packet on condoms when she had her little sex positive talk with Lily. But Lily needs to be more responsible. That nonchalante line about playing pulling out roulette - to her mother no less - made her sound so immature. I really need Charlotte to get a job again so she can stop obsessing over family life and work-life-balance-callibrate her brain again.

Dessert Week: the first challenge was to make their family's favourite dessert. This is how I like it. Real signature challenges and a good variety of output. With the showstopper, while not my kind of dessert, I can see how that sort of thing is something trendy for parties and coorporate events (if the size them down a bit). Certainly looked easier to eat than bubble waffle cones. And while I agree that the judging could do with pointing out some technical errors or tips, I like the new judges. To be frank, it felt like Maggie and Dan got a bit repetitive with their comments in their last couple of seasons.

Personally, I think Charlotte and Harry's story this week was very old school Charlotte. Especially her coaching him on the kegels. And there was something educational in there. How do people in the Wexley's income range and status not have someone take care of the invitations, RSVPs and cake order (and the grumpy mother in law). Let me chime in with the popular opinion if 'Steve shouldn't be the one to move out', but maybe its a win win for him to get away from Miranda and their whiney son.

Oh yes, that was a surprise. One day you're in, and one day you're out, I guess. This was the first episode where I didn't think America Ferrera everytime Rachel was on screen. And I did enjoy the level of decoration in the showstopper. They were still pies, albeit very colourful ones. First challenge was very straight forward too, very appetizing.

Season 4, the final season, September 21st! Yay! Teasing an Otis-Ruby-Maeve triangle in the trailer. Boo!

The sweet loafs - YUM. Very well done Neil, he is very good and the quintessential Bake Off contestant. Not Flashy, a bit shy maybe, but his bakes shine. And I appreciate that he doesn't overdo the decoration, his bakes are really relatable.

I saw a review that stated that Aiden only pops up later in the series. Critics got screeners for all but the final episode, so I would expect him to make an appearance around episode 6-7.

The show will not be back. It is one of a bunch of programmes axed by Channel 4 due to a slump in advertisement revenues.

In the SATC days the reason why Carrie needed to pull out another dress for the Met Ball wouldn't have been a seamstress-flu and flustered designer, but her having a poached egg on toast (because she is now a domestic goddess) and dribbling yolk on the dress. Just to get the story full circle.

How was there not a single shot of Esme and Patrick in a dragon bathrobe? Thats what I want to know.

I don't mind Miranda going to LA while her son is trapsing around Europe. In case of emergency everyone apparently gets very convenient last minute flights to meet back up in NY. If he was in NYC for the summer and she left him with Steve to run off with Che, that'd be a shit move. The 'I don't know technology and anything other than an iPhone requires a Masters in Computer Science' is getting so old. I also didn't hate the MILF list scenes. The oogling of the teenager does not seem out of character for the Julie Cooper appreciation society, but making those comments out lood was a tick too much. For a moment I thought they were going to create drama by Charlotte not being on the list. The jewellery thiefing as so weird. Again, Carrie (and Seema) watches for minutes before making any type of noise? The guy wasn't very discreet and two women of their standing should know how jewellery (of the quality that gets its own cocktail party) is handled.

I liked it and I hope it gets a second season, but there are a lot of points that need addressing. Its a cute show, but not very deep. I read some reviews and they go on about Kim Catrall not sparkling in this one. With that bland script, I am not surprised. Chad is a caricature (the Sherlock sequence was so unneccessary), as is the deal broker lady, and the rest is shallow (as in, we don't learn much about them) with the occasional one-liner. Ben is a cheap copy of an early season TBBT Raj. I liked Marco's mum and Chad had some moments. Pilots need to be taken with a grain of salt, but Marco didn't need to be handpicked in a mall. After the second episode its irrelevant how they got to be an assistant. They could've been hired via an agency or won the job lottery. Obvious parallels with The Bold Type, what is with the leader-whorshipping? Madolyn like Jacqueline are adored like the second coming. Is that normal? And the unrealistic timelines - it takes a week to develop an organic formular and packaging? I am glad they didn't just churn out the Pride-line, but looked for some context. Still not the most creative idea. Venetia, sorry girl, giving the company secrets away like that? and getting re-hired? Wouldn't the staff at a major make-up company, plus the guru-come-assistant, be a lot more creative with their everyday make-up? Maybe not the IT department, but surely the creatives?

I loved the little scene where Rock realises she has to support Lily because Lily supported her during her Rose to Rock journey, and then does. I like those two girls.

Wasn't the cape over a dress that doesn't zip what the Kardashian did with the MM dress? But then she changed for the actual gala and the dinner.

Did anyone else feel the Che telling Miranda it was the belly-comment that made her act weird around her didn't quite sound that honest? If it was supposed to be honest I am disappointed with the acting.

I am more of a cake person than a biscuit person. Was it mandatory to use fondant in the first challenge? That puts me off even more. But the technical could convert me, that looked so yummy and I have to find the recipe for the banana caramel. And would you believe it, the technical factored into the judges' decision ... Show stopper wasn't anything new for a GBBO watcher, but there were a few neat ideas. Laurent has a target on his back, despite the great baking heritage the french contestants never do very well on these shows? Hosts are still doing well.

I like the new line-up, so far. The new hosts and judges are pleasant, although the judges were very complimentary all around, even on stuff that was visibly not quite right. I don't like the illustrations for the bakes, they aren't great and too far removed from the style the franchise is known for. A bit odd for the episode that they basically had two show stoppers because that first challenge really was a show stopper too (maybe thats why the rechristened the third challenge the show off stopper). I hope they go back to a regular signature bake in the next episodes and more distinct challenges.

I was hard on Gigi last season and I still think her narration back then was to fast and not enunciated enough. But she did really well the second time around. The story with Paxton and Eric was a bit superficial from a sports perspective. For a moment I thought they'd go full circle on Devi and Paxton, but I am glad they didn't.

Looking at both sets of rooms, I would expect both apartments to have a walk in closet somewhere. Neither had enough storage space, especially considering the rule of designing for 1/3 more storage than currently needed. And Tara will have that coffee table or an ottoman back in there within a week. Personally, I am still annoyed that they kicked Claire out so early. Plus, I my eyes haven't stopped rolling over Dara praising the most mediocre stuff this week; and I wasn't aware my hallway needed to tell a story. Congratulations Tara, she was clearly the winner here and I hope she can enjoy the space with her family. AJ is a great host.