Aulty

Douglas McKinnon will not be involved in a potential series 3: https://tvline.com/news/good-omens-season-3-renewal-douglas-mackinnon-showrunner-leaving-1235064809/ shame, afaik he was central to the look and feel of the show.

UK viewer here. Yes, there are older contestants, although I am not sure if they had a hard time finding people from that age group because there is at least one bloke who is in more than one episode. I agree with you, I also felt it got stale quite quickly and I eventually stopped watching. Agree with the observation on the chubbier contestants and I also got the impression that women of color also rarely made it into the top 2. And of course the lads with the small w areillies weren't popular either. But I liked the little knowledge bites.

Very Georgie Henley as Lucy Pevensie, I thought 😉

I am curious what others think. I forgot it was on yesterday, the first time I've missed the kick off episode. Allison, I liked, Noel, I am getting a bit tired of. The producers probably have all their fingers crossed he doesn't get dragged into the Russell Brand mess - they are (or were?) good mates iirc. Paul is trying to be likable now? The technical with the cake from the intro was cute, and I also enjoyed the vertical layer cakes - there is something similar with bread. Not sure if the 3D show stopper heralds another series laden with construction rather than baking, but animals are usually more forgiving than doing busts of people. There were a few instanced of the bakers listing so many different flavours for their cakes, creams, ganaches that I couldn't even compute.

So many thoughts. It wasn't as bad as I feared - some of the new faces from the Goop school of manifestation and astrology got a bit much by the end, but Cal's story throughout the series was quite good. And I love the actress who played their ma (I've seen her on a few shows recently). Eric's church story wasn't really something that I can relate to. Nice sentiment that he wants to become a pastor, but does anyone think that this only sounds good on paper because a lot of problems come from the institution itself and are out of the hands of pastors? Deaf girl looks like Lizzo. Great to see Hannah Waddingham again. Fascinating how unannoying Isaac was when paired with Aimee and not used as a roadblock for Maeve and Otis. Same with Ruby when Anwar and Olivia are out of the picture. I really liked both Viv's and Jackson's stories, and felt they were done well. Also love their friendship. Couldn't warm to the O and Otis story - and I still don't know if I actually like O. They only have a few months of sixth form left anyway. Good that Jean decided to tell Dan. He seems like a nice guy, who may not be right for Jean, but right for Joy. I don't have much of an opinion on Jean's sister - she is one of those never before mentioned characters, brought in to stir the pot a bit. And the story with the Groffs. I really liked the girl on the horse farm, she could be good for Adam, she has good energy. Lovely to see how much Michael enjoys cooking and that everybode else loves it too.

Nice to see some of the old faces again. With or Without you is such an overplayed song on TV, but well done Collin. I was waiting for someone to actually sit on a cupcake.

Well, at least she got to ride him once. I am, and I knew this was coming when every season before this ended with Maeve and Otis not together for some lame reason, hugely disappointed that this show, of all shows, could not commit to showing a relationship between two main characters grow and evolve without stupid TV tropes. They managed it well when its platonic, like Otis and Eric, but throw sex in the mix and suddenly its all about keeping viewers in suspense.

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/sep/16/sex-education-laurie-nunn-netflix-final-series Reading this, I am preparing myself for a huge disappointment. Very little interaction between Otis, Eric, Maeve and Jean, Cal and a bunch of new characters becoming the main story and the dreaded Otis - Maeve - Ruby triangle. Plus some of the things from the trailer, aka Isaac is still around while so many other characters aren't ... Don't tell me I am overreacting.

from the NetflixUK Insta

Did I miss something about the 5 year pause for Aidan and Carrie - why can't she go to Virginia for a while, she hasn't anything else on, does she? Yes, Wyatt isn't too fond of her, but if they work with a therapist on his issues he could come round. She makes his Dad happy after all. I don't mind Samantha not sounding like the 'old' Samantha. If she's lived in London for a few years its normal that her speech and accent would change and not snap fully back to her US style for a short phone call like that. The cameo itself, meh, underwhelming. Its far bigger that SJP finally got her kit off for that final humping montage - she was the one who always left her bra on during sex scenes. Was that an attempt to make this a bigger story than the Samantha cameo? One more thing: The chef explains that they should start with the green olive, than move on to the black - insert innuendo banter with Nya - and then lick the spoon. And then everyone goes and starts with the black olive and the tiny spoon?

It was a nice touch bringing Maggie back as a guest judge for the finale. GBBO should've done that with Mary. I think I'd enjoy a Mary/Prue judged episode, mostly because I am so over Paul Hollywood. I also loved the blooper reel at the end, it gave us a glimpse of everyone's personality and that everyone has fun. They finally broke out the '3D cake that looks like something else' challenge. The signature was fiddly and a bit beige, but the technical was chunky and not sweet, so all in all a good balance of tasks. To me, it doesn't matter who won. There was no front runner and they are all competent bakers. But congratulations nevertheless, well deserved Based on past seasons, GBBO will be back mid-September, so not too long a wait for you @CatLover74 - with a new host ... Personally, I am looking forward to the return of Bruno on GCBS.

Andy Hamilton (the creator of Old Harry's Game and voice of Satan in the series) was in season 1 - the demon Hastor uses to test the bath water with. I love OHG and it would be hilarious if there was a connection in the Austen story. I was rooting for Andy Hamilton to be the voice of Satan in GO but, alas, they cast Cumberbatch just to distort his voice work beyond recognition.

Thank you, thats so considerate :-) I am a bit behind with my watching, but had myself a GABO double feature today. It also takes a few days before they are available for the rest of the world. YUMM on the signature. Everytime mirror glaze is set as a challenge I imagine TPTB want the telegenic Insta galaxy glazes with lots of colour and sparke, and then the bakers choose boring chocolate mirror glazes. I am OK with the final 3 too. However, what a pitty Neil didn't get to have a go at chocolate week - I think he would've nailed that.

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.