S10.E18: Ce-LEE-brate Good Times!

[TexasGal]

Quote

Andy sits down with Captain Lee, the Stud of the Sea, to celebrate "Below Deck's" 10th Anniversary with former "Below Deck" crew, charter guests and celebrity fans.

Airdate: 03.27.2023

[RoseAllDay]

I wish this had been more than just a Watch What Happens Live installment. Lee deserves so much more — a true Bravo icon, who actually deserves the title. (But knowing him, he probably didn’t want much of a fuss.)

I was surprised to see Elizabeth, and also surprised not to see Eddie. Kat and Amy looked lovely.

What a hoot seeing a sober Dolores, and I have to say Jackie Siegel seems like a genuinely nice person. Very cool of them to appear.

I’m going to miss Lee. Part of me wishes they would just end this part of the franchise, especially after how this season went, and how they’ll never truly replace Lee.

Happy sailing, sir.

Side note — When is Kate due? Seems like she’s been preggers forever.

[rur]

I don't know what I expected, but it wasn't what I saw. First of all, I think Captain Lee deserved an hour, not a measly 30 minutes. He was instrumental in helping make the franchise and its spinoffs successful for Bravo. And while I can understand them showing his compassionate side by including the guy who Capt. Lee reached out to as well as the Queen of Versailles since we saw them discuss the loss of his son, it felt like more like a plug for some of their other shows than a way to honor him, especially since that sequined housewife who went on a cruise was there as well. 

I would have rather seen more clips of previous seasons or more talking heads from the people he had worked with. I imagine Bravo had no intentions of including anyone who had said negative things about the network, so that's probably why we didn't get Rachel, Eddie, and some others.  Ironically, we got to see still-vacuous Elizabeth wishing him well, although -- I guess, true to form -- she seemed to lose track of what she was saying about halfway through her message. 

Edited March 28, 2023 by rur

[Tanukisan]

Like a stunned haddock at the wrong end of a ten pound test line, these comments are about an "episode" that was more bait than hook.

It was sad to see this so-called "tribute" to Captain Lee.  He deserved much better.  There were a couple of good moments -- like seeing Kate and Ben again.  But then there were the tasteless and idiotic appearances of people like the "Queen of Versailles" barmaid and the random/irrelevant guest who sat in live.

It would have been appropriate to see more clips of the highlights and lowlights of what actually occurred during the 10 season run, instead of some of the vacuous and non sequitur statements from people who often looked like they were rehearsing a scripted phrase rather than anything truly meaningful or from the heart.

But it was nice to see Captain Lee, who looked a bit better than his appearance in the previous actual episode.  I wish him fair winds and calm seas.  

I found the most ironic and tasteless moment at the very end, when the person in the shark suit came out to serve shots on a ski.  But then again, after all, if it weren't for alcohol, there'd be no "Below Deck" in the first place -- perhaps no BRAVO at all!  (:

[RoseAllDay]

5 hours ago, Tanukisan said:

Like a stunned haddock at the wrong end of a ten pound test line, these comments are about an "episode" that was more bait than hook.

It was sad to see this so-called "tribute" to Captain Lee.  He deserved much better.  There were a couple of good moments -- like seeing Kate and Ben again.  But then there were the tasteless and idiotic appearances of people like the "Queen of Versailles" barmaid and the random/irrelevant guest who sat in live.

It would have been appropriate to see more clips of the highlights and lowlights of what actually occurred during the 10 season run, instead of some of the vacuous and non sequitur statements from people who often looked like they were rehearsing a scripted phrase rather than anything truly meaningful or from the heart.

But it was nice to see Captain Lee, who looked a bit better than his appearance in the previous actual episode.  I wish him fair winds and calm seas.  

I found the most ironic and tasteless moment at the very end, when the person in the shark suit came out to serve shots on a ski.  But then again, after all, if it weren't for alcohol, there'd be no "Below Deck" in the first place -- perhaps no BRAVO at all!  (:

Yes, Lee definitely deserved more. It seems like Andy likes the old bait-and-switch. The promos made it sound as if people were actually going to come out on stage and share memories about working with Lee (which is usually how these kinds of shows go), rather than just cameos involving some kind of stupid game. Ten-second interviews with Kate and Ben? I still want to know where Eddie was, since he and Lee were close (or I thought they were).

But I chalked it all up to Andy being Andy. As for the shark, I was half expecting to see Anderson Cooper, so I’m thankful for small favors.

[snarts]

Something about this whole Captain Lee send-off feels forced and disingenuous. I know he's older and has had some recent health issues, but it feels like they're forcing him off the show and trying to make it sound like he's actually retiring. Yet, in his twitter comments, he's clear that he's not retiring. So, in essence, they fired him but are trying to put a nice spin on it. 

I'm not buying it. Feels like age discrimination/budget slashing to me. Captain Lee doesn't deserve that, no one does.

[pasdetrois]

I bet the dearth of participants is because Bravo wouldn't pay them.

[RedHawk]

On 3/28/2023 at 8:18 PM, Tanukisan said:

Like a stunned haddock at the wrong end of a ten pound test line, these comments are about an "episode" that was more bait than hook.

It was sad to see this so-called "tribute" to Captain Lee.  He deserved much better.  There were a couple of good moments -- like seeing Kate and Ben again.  But then there were the tasteless and idiotic appearances of people like the "Queen of Versailles" barmaid and the random/irrelevant guest who sat in live.

It would have been appropriate to see more clips of the highlights and lowlights of what actually occurred during the 10 season run, instead of some of the vacuous and non sequitur statements from people who often looked like they were rehearsing a scripted phrase rather than anything truly meaningful or from the heart.

But it was nice to see Captain Lee, who looked a bit better than his appearance in the previous actual episode.  I wish him fair winds and calm seas.  

I found the most ironic and tasteless moment at the very end, when the person in the shark suit came out to serve shots on a ski.  But then again, after all, if it weren't for alcohol, there'd be no "Below Deck" in the first place -- perhaps no BRAVO at all!  (:

And then the the random/irrelevant guest who sat in live didn't get to take a shot from the shotski! So weird. 

Yes, Captain Lee deserved a better "tribute" show. It does seem like he's getting a gentle push down the gangplank. He loves his job and has made a lot of money late in life (and has used his celebrity for good), so it's too bad if Bravo wants to sail on without him. I think he has the stamina to continue but for the production company his uncertain health is a problem and could cost them money when there's a shooting schedule to stick to. I do feel that his funny phrases that once were delivered naturally because it was his real persona now come across as forced, and the show overall is getting stale. I don't watch the other Below Deck spinoffs and if Captain Lee is out this was my last season watching BD original. I'm ready to let it go.

Edited March 31, 2023 by RedHawk
Grammar fix