Aulty

Why is Kat shouting everytime she opens her mouth? There is hardly any nuance. And she has alsolutely no chemistry with Max. I was a bit thrown in the end when Kat woke up next to her friend - I thought for a second that the whole staycation thing was a dream.

Why choose a Cat Cafe for Kat if they can't have a convincing number of cats on set? I know she's also said that the cats they use on set are not sedated and they get to cuddle them between takes. I am not prepared to take her word for the former and somewhat sideeye her, as a vegan, being so OK with putting animals to work on set. They could've come up with something different and just as hip for the show

Oh bugger, I am starting to actually enjoy this show. In this episode they built the story up nicely it came together well in the end. Not sure how easy it is to follow the overall arch of the show, but the episodes themselves are quite allright. Agree with @AnimeMania that its the characters that have to carry the show. Even if you don't like the fast and loose approach in handling the source material, there is no denying that Richard Dormer and Jo Eaton-Kent are doing a fine job - Vimes and Cheery make this show at the moment. The sets in this episode looked great and very rich in detail (I loved the music flea market opposite the Watch house).

Why have they been hiding Rich in the kiln room for all those years? He is a great judge - lovely voice, very bubbly, articulate and warm. Great smile too. He and Keith make a lovely team. Rose, who took over kiln duty from Rich, made a good and competent impression in the first episode. And last but not least, Siobhan is a great addition to the team. Her brand of humor makes the show feel a lot fresher. Lots to love. Well done Sal, grabbing the first Potter of the Week accolade. Can't remember all the contestant's names just yet. The pirate lady's illustration of Keith, Rich and Siobhan were quite funny. I thought she was a gonner when she didn't finish her stuff, but the throw down and Ara's mistakes saved her.

I don't know where to start with that video.

I think adressing the audience works better when she can do it to the same camera instead of turning around. They don't get the timing right between her shifting to face in a different direction and cutting to the other camera. It was better than the first episode, especially the second half. However, I still think the mom was miscast - a bit more Emily Gilmore would have been nice - and Mayim, while bringing the right look and energy to the character, really lacks range in her comedic acting. The music numbers were lovely and the banter was a lot smoother than the 4th wall stuff. It also suited the actors better.

Thats exactly what irked me. If they insist on keeping close to the source material then Mayim, who does not have much range as an actress anyway, is not the woman for the job. I also feel that the actress who plays Kat's mother wasn't a good choice, I'd rather she was more like Miranda's mom. Unpopular opinion: I don't like that they've gone for a cat cafe because I don't like animals put to work on TV sets.

I watched the first two episodes. This show is a real conundrum. It is both, terrible and not that bad; too far removed from the source material and at the same time, to close to it. The characters are refreshingly diverse and charismatic, but often not true to the originals (or completely missing). I love most of the casting choices, especially Littlebottom, Vimes (edit: the costume is shite though), Lady Sibyll and Throat. Not keen on the librarian and the senior wizards weren't portly enough. Some people will critisize the cast as too woke or PC or whatever, but I think Sir Terry would have enjoyed some of the changes. I also quite liked the reimagination of the Mended Drum. There is a decent show in there somewhere - I am not if it needed to be less fantasy and more human or if the sci-fi needed to be dialled up to the max. Anyhow, the show is a lot less painful than the trailer and previews.

I am sure many a bookmark where made for this recipe. If it really produces a decent pudding its a smart way to speed up Christmas cooking.

Rahul eating butter from the block like chocolate was oddly fascinating. It was by and large a very good episode, not a lot of cock ups and just all around charming. Very good mix of contestants. I felt they really wanted Rahul to win. I didn't like all the artificial colour and spraywork on Rahul's cake and preferred Henry's natural decoration. Helena and Nancy are a hoot. Loved Noel asking Nancy how many sugars she will take (in her tea) and her replying that she doesn't take sugar with her Gin and Tonic. Her comment on sandy beaches / tropical crumble was really quick witted.

Esme made costumes for Cher. Of course she did. She truly is the coolest judge on TV. The Dead Or Alive cover at the end was HILARIOUS.

Original Air Date: Jan 15, 2021

Nothing prepares you for the shots of Patrick and Esme in full elf drag. I hope they didn't go through all the hoo ha of setting up the sewing studio for just two festive episodes. I expect a full new season early next year 🙂

I am surprised how well Tom Allen and Matt Lucas worked as presenters. Tom even tasted some bakes and went in for nibbles. TPTB should consider bumping Tom to the main show.

As much as I like the current crop of emplyoees, instead of focussing a spin-off on the most annoying couple of the show, just start anew with a new team in a different branch of Cloud 9 (or one of its rivals). Maybe transfer the odd character from the original show to the new store or have the occasional guest appearance.

The other The Watch is a 2012 movie that has nothing to do with Pratchett. Even so, you are not wrong 🙂

That Rotten Tomatoes links is for a different 'The Watch'. RT doesn't have a score for the 2021 The Watch yet.

There are a few drawings and renders of the Conner house floating around the internet. Here is one (x)

They dropped the episode a day early, its already available if you need something to watch tonite 🙂 The setup with the pirate story was good, I thought, but it turned into an hour of them slugging along bad roads and James doing some symbol sudoku. No side-challenges and, surprisingly, no moaning about the local wilflife, poor accommodation or tinkering with the others' cars. Very nice scenic shots though.

To put it into context for those who don't have access to the first two seasons (which are not on Netflix): in series 2 they had both, a meringue pie challenge and a mini tart challenge where most bakers chose to make fruit tarts. Series 1 also had a challenge that included tarts that was heavy on fruit and custard recipes. The producers (and I don't think Paul, at leat not in the early years, had a hand in choosing the challenges) probably chose American pies hoping the bakers do something a bit different.

There are quite a few, but they are not available to US viewers. When the show was still on the BBC they had the Sport Relief/Comic Relief Bake Off, since the move to Channel 4 its the Stand Up To Cancer Bake Off (Sport Relief, Comic Relief and SUTC are British charities).

That was the first thing that crossed my mind too, but when it aired here in the UK they announced and marketed that technical challenge as a tribute to the national health service (people showed support for frontline healthworkers by putting pictures of rainbows in their windows) It could also have been a complaint about the use of artificial food colouring.

That Status Quo (the band) is playing out the episode with that festive song 😉

I am not devasted, but I will miss the show. I'd rather have them end the show a year early and give the writers enough time to wrap up the story, than dragging it out and cancel it between seasons. At least they don't need to come up with more reasons why Jonah is still working in retail and end on some sappy Amy/Jonah reunion. NBC should shoot a few dozen more of those badly behaved customer snippets and then sprinkle them in between their regular shows every now and then.