Past Seasons Talk: The Stew Room

[suebee12]

I am watching all the episodes on Hulu. I have finished Season 1-3 and am most of the way through Season 4. Lots of folks I know on this season...but the one thing. I know Richard Blais is not much liked but he really doesn't bother me and I think he is a good chef! I really liked that in the Wedding Wars episode, he gave his prize to Stephanie because of her wedding cake. He did not have to do that. OK, his hair is a bit wild but still who cares if he can cook. Now if I have to pick someone I dislike, it was Dale and Lisa. Just finished Restaurant Wars and I would have kicked them both off the show...he because he didn't run the kitchen well, and her for her really poor cooking! Actually, she would have been my choice to go on general principles! Spike lucked out that he chose the front of the house and stayed away from all of the upheaval in the kitchen! I am enjoying watching these and my binge sessions are great....well worth the 99 cents a month charge for Hulu!!!!

[Nordly Beaumont]

37 minutes ago, suebee12 said:

Now if I have to pick someone I dislike, it was Dale and Lisa.

I've been doing re-watches too, skipped season 2 though, too much ugly drama. Anyway, I didn't mind Richard either and I hated Dale! All his preachy talking heads about being a team player, integrity, being helpful, and always bringing up that Hung is terrible for not helping, blah blah blah. If you want to be a team player and help others, fine, good for you. Not everyone needs to feel the same way you do. It's a competition and if Hung just wanted to compete, there's nothing wrong with that. I felt like Dale was a phony just trying for that fan favorite check.

[akr]

11 hours ago, Nordly Beaumont said:

I've been doing re-watches too, skipped season 2 though, too much ugly drama. Anyway, I didn't mind Richard either and I hated Dale! All his preachy talking heads about being a team player, integrity, being helpful, and always bringing up that Hung is terrible for not helping, blah blah blah. If you want to be a team player and help others, fine, good for you. Not everyone needs to feel the same way you do. It's a competition and if Hung just wanted to compete, there's nothing wrong with that. I felt like Dale was a phony just trying for that fan favorite check.

I rewatched recently, too, and didn't mind Richard or Dale (although yes, he was hot-tempered), but detested the various bro brothers - Spike, the guy from NZ, at al. Lisa didn't get that frustrating to me until later - she just lasted longer than the other unpleasant people.

[suebee12]

2 hours ago, akr said:

Lisa didn't get that frustrating to me until later - she just lasted longer than the other unpleasant people.

Yes, she just got nastier as it went along! I just finished the season and the reunion show and had to laugh when Tom pointed out that Lisa probably shouldn't count on being the most popular. I think what really got me was the way she stood while being judged. It was like she was daring the judges to oust her! Her arms folded in front of her and her nasty stare. I was really sad that Antonia wasn't up to snuff  and didn't make the finals. I also found it interesting that Tom said from what he had seen, he would have sent Lisa home instead of Dale in RW because she failed at two dishes...I agreed with that. Even tho' Dale was a hot-head, I liked him more as a chef than Lisa.

[Rai]

I liked Richard on his original season. I liked him on All-Stars until he kept hammering this whole idea that he had choked and that was the ONLY reason he'd lost to Stephanie, and when he seemed to be leaning into Mike Isabella's more obvious sexism toward the female chefs, especially Antonia. What lost me on him is when he came back on Season 12 to be a judge. It was like a 180 personality flip, and he hasn't stopped with it, and it is TERRIBLE. Just cringe-inducing.

I don't HATE him. I just never want to be stuck in an elevator with him.

[jmcd44]

I am rewatching the New Orleans season. I don’t think I ever fully watched & then once Nick won & everyone was rightfully outraged I just didn’t bother. I realized today that any opinion Nina has I just agree. I think her being on the current season awakened my outrage all over again. 

I’m watching the bizarre cream cheese challenge & so jarring to see John Besh. In hindsight I can see a bit of a creep in him. 

[Rai]

14 hours ago, jmcd44 said:

I am rewatching the New Orleans season. I don’t think I ever fully watched & then once Nick won & everyone was rightfully outraged I just didn’t bother. I realized today that any opinion Nina has I just agree. I think her being on the current season awakened my outrage all over again. 

Every time she tells someone to suck a dick, I live.

[Lamb18]

I am watching Top Chef season 13 (California) and I can't remember who won. I thought it was Kwame, but he was eliminated and Amar was the one who came back from Last Chance Kitchen. So here's Amar, Jeremy, Marjorie and Isaac and I can't remember which of them won. I think it's Isaac and I'll find out later today.

[Mrs. P.]

11 hours ago, Lamb18 said:

I am watching Top Chef season 13 (California) and I can't remember who won. I thought it was Kwame, but he was eliminated and Amar was the one who came back from Last Chance Kitchen. So here's Amar, Jeremy, Marjorie and Isaac and I can't remember which of them won. I think it's Isaac and I'll find out later today.

Jeremy won.

[RealityWatcher]

On 1/30/2019 at 7:37 PM, jmcd44 said:

I am rewatching the New Orleans season. I don’t think I ever fully watched & then once Nick won & everyone was rightfully outraged I just didn’t bother. I realized today that any opinion Nina has I just agree. I think her being on the current season awakened my outrage all over again. 

I’m watching the bizarre cream cheese challenge & so jarring to see John Besh. In hindsight I can see a bit of a creep in him. 

I was outraged, too. Nina is my all time favorite cheftestant EVER. I had watched Top Chef here and there, but her season was the first one I watched every week religiously as it aired (and over and over again on my DVR between new episodes). I liked her from the first episode and I'm still upset that she didn't win. I've accepted it more now that I see how successful she's been. I can't wait to finally eat at her restaurant!

[suebee12]

I just finished the 5th season and I was really not happy with the finale! When they brought back Jeff, Leah and Jamie, I was so glad that Jeff won! (I still think that he should not lost to Fabio when he did.) Yes, sometimes he let his ideas get away from him but overall I thought he was a really good chef. So when he, Carla and Hosea were the top three, I was really hoping he would win! When he didn't and they had to choose who to PYKAG we had to settle for a "loser" to make the finale! Stefan had lost a lot of momentum and I never really thought Fabio was all that.....When this episode aired, were people upset that this happened? Does anyone remember?

I was also a bit upset with Carla listening to Casey. I think she would have been in the running if she had cooked "Carla style" instead of doing things in a way she wasn't comfortable with.

[RebeccatheWriter]

On 2/3/2019 at 9:33 PM, suebee12 said:

I just finished the 5th season and I was really not happy with the finale! When they brought back Jeff, Leah and Jamie, I was so glad that Jeff won! (I still think that he should not lost to Fabio when he did.) Yes, sometimes he let his ideas get away from him but overall I thought he was a really good chef. So when he, Carla and Hosea were the top three, I was really hoping he would win! When he didn't and they had to choose who to PYKAG we had to settle for a "loser" to make the finale! Stefan had lost a lot of momentum and I never really thought Fabio was all that.....When this episode aired, were people upset that this happened? Does anyone remember?

I was also a bit upset with Carla listening to Casey. I think she would have been in the running if she had cooked "Carla style" instead of doing things in a way she wasn't comfortable with.

I adore Carla and rooted for her in both season 5 and the all star season. She seemed to be at her best mid-competition. I was annoyed with how the other cheftestants treated her in both seasons she did. They were kind of dismissive to her abilities and seemed overly shocked when she did well. I remember in the challenge at the US Open she was ridiculed by the others on her team for her African Peanut Soup. She was about to present her dish and the game was on the line. If she won, her team won. If she lost, the score would be tied. Mike Isabella would have been next to present and walked away from her saying that he better get ready to plate. He said it so rudely and dismissively like she had no chance at all. She ended up being the overall winner of that challenge. 

With Season 5 I was disappointed in her decision to follow Casey's lead too. Hosea was not my pick, as he never came off as particularly talented or driven. He spent all season on camera whining about "Team Europe" or flirting with Leah. There was just nothing remarkable about what he did or what he plated. Stefan, while cocky and a pot stirrer was competent and consistently won challenges. He seemed a bit over it and out of juice in the finale though. Fabio seemed to have gotten by for as long as he did by his personality rather than his cooking talent. 

[cooksdelight]

I think Cat Cora was part of this show now and then... found a photo of her with her wife, Nicole.

 

[jmcd44]

On 2/1/2019 at 11:40 AM, RealityWatcher said:

I was outraged, too. Nina is my all time favorite cheftestant EVER. I had watched Top Chef here and there, but her season was the first one I watched every week religiously as it aired (and over and over again on my DVR between new episodes). I liked her from the first episode and I'm still upset that she didn't win. I've accepted it more now that I see how successful she's been. I can't wait to finally eat at her restaurant!

I just flat out refused to watch the last episode. When I googled “Nina Top Chef restaurant” after the r, the main result was “Nina Top Chef robbed”. Yes internet YES. 

Have moved onto rewatching season 12 & was so satisfied seeing George Pagonis go home right away (even if he came back) again. 

[The Solution]

Here's a very nice NY Times profile on Nina Compton:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/07/business/nina-compton-compere-lapin-work-diary.html

I'm not sure when she sleeps.

[Nancybeth]

I've now re-watched both Season 5 and All Stars.  I think Carla's biggest issue was always, always, not listening to her own instincts.  She let other voices -- the judges, her fellow Cheftestants, Casey, drown out her gut. She did the best when she stayed true to who she was, i.e. the West African peanut soup in the tennis challenge or the dishes she did well in her own first finale.  But when she doubted herself, that was when she got in trouble. 

And I just finished watching Restaurant Wars from Season 4.  Lisa absolutely should have gone home over Dale.

[Lamb18]

I started Season 2, the only season that I haven't watched all the way through. Truly underwhelming - could Bravo not find better chefs or were they trying to take the show down the Housewives path and be more about personalities and drama than cooking. So many of the contestants talk about taking other contestants out - that's not how it works! I just finished the episode where Frank builds his mushroom village and Betty reams out Marcel, calling him all sorts of names. Then he sits and stares at her while she's cooking her meal (ha). My favorite is Mia. Sam is OK and Ilan and Elia aren't too bad so far (but I know it gets worse).

[The Solution]

2 hours ago, Lamb18 said:

I started Season 2, the only season that I haven't watched all the way through. Truly underwhelming - could Bravo not find better chefs or were they trying to take the show down the Housewives path and be more about personalities and drama than cooking. So many of the contestants talk about taking other contestants out - that's not how it works! I just finished the episode where Frank builds his mushroom village and Betty reams out Marcel, calling him all sorts of names. Then he sits and stares at her while she's cooking her meal (ha). My favorite is Mia. Sam is OK and Ilan and Elia aren't too bad so far (but I know it gets worse).

Betty was a harridan. Ilan was a punk. Sam was a tool. Marcel was just a goof. Elia was okay until the end, when she finally broke.

[Mellowyellow]

S2 was so full of these angry, hostile nutters. They could combine the nutjobs in S2 with Josie, the Texas mean girls, Mike Izzabella and host a season of Top Chef Villains for train wreck reality TV.

Find a way to throw in Gordon Ramsay as their host/judge 😂

[Rai]

Heh, Josie started out on Season 2, no less, so it's like they brought her back just because she didn't have a chance to stand out in the sea of jerks that season had.

[MerBearStare]

3 hours ago, Mellowyellow said:

S2 was so full of these angry, hostile nutters. They could combine the nutjobs in S2 with Josie, the Texas mean girls, Mike Izzabella and host a season of Top Chef Villains for train wreck reality TV.

Honestly, I would totally watch this. 

[Lamb18]

I've watched 8 episodes of season 2 now. Boy, did Cliff throw Mia under the bus in episode 8 (the Christmas team catering challenge). I don't understand why he was so against her unless it was just because he's a jerk. I wish Mia hadn't chosen to stay under the bus and fought for herself. I have a feeling she wouldn't have been eliminated if she hadn't chosen to go home in place of Elia. She was my favorite on the show. Elia is one of the better chefs, but I don't see what's so special about her that others sacrifice their game for her.

In the meantime, Ilan, Cliff, etc., are getting more fed up with Marcel. And I don't see how Frank was allowed to remain on the show when he was threatening Marcel with physical violence.

Per @Mellowyellow I would watch a hostile, nutter Top Chef. Claudette from the Colorado season needs to be added. She was hostile and delusional. She could be besties with Heather and Sarah.

[Ashforth]

Over the past few days I re-watched Season One on HULU. WOW. I had kind of forgotten how much of a total arrogant aggressive jerk Stephen was. I mean, crazily self-centered and asshole-ish.

Tiffani was a jerk at times, but I guess I had more sympathy for her all these years later once it got past her cringeworthy arrogant moments (the kid challenge - jesus, suck it up Tiff).

Her "team" fucked her over in the finale except for Dave's dessert (which she then tried to take credit for... no, ma'am). All in all, very interesting and enjoyable to watch again. Even Katie Lee didn't seem all that bad!

[AriAu]

Quote

S2 was so full of these angry, hostile nutters. They could combine the nutjobs in S2 with Josie, the Texas mean girls, Mike Izzabella and host a season of Top Chef Villains for train wreck reality TV.

I would sooooo watch, especially if you add Lisa Fernandez, Jen Carroll (from All Stars going off her rocker) and then so arrogant/clueless people like Phillip Lee (TC California)and Angelo (TC Washington) and, a personal fav Tyler Stone who didnt even make it out of the pre-lims n Texas and then a few guys to stir up the pot like Spike and Katsuji

[dleighg]

16 minutes ago, AriAu said:

and Angelo (TC Washington)

ah Angelo was kind of sweet. Clueless yes.

[phoenix780]

Re-watching this show is a really interesting experience, because I find that I can't get through a lot of the seasons for one reason or another. I couldn't make it through the first episode of season 2, because of what went on towards the end. I turned off Texas after what was essentially the casting special. I don't exactly remember Antonia's elimination, but I can't even start All-Stars because of it. I've skipped a bunch of finales. And, I'm dropping out of New Orleans after watching Nicholas choose to keep immunity, sending someone home undeservedly. 

I don't know if it makes this a really great show or a really terrible one, that I have such strong negative feelings about things years after the fact. I'm kind of surprised I watched for as many seasons as I did. I wonder...giving the victory to someone slightly-to-moderately unpleasant probably made me feel like it was an authentic, talent-based competition at the time, which made me think it was a quality show (in contrast to, say, America's Next Top Model). But now...I might just want a classic story where the person I think is the "good guy" wins (and where the "good guy" could actually be, y'know, female). 

For those looking to see a show full of villains, there kind of is one-"Hell's Kitchen." Nary a James Beard award in sight, but still a pretty entertaining battle of mostly unpleasant people.

Edited October 30, 2019 by phoenix780

[Ellee]

Totally understand where you are coming from. 

At least what you are watching is Top Chef.   Masterchef is just there for people to watch other people get yelled at ridiculed and degraded. 

I might be the only one but I hope they have a TC Junior season. I really enjoyed watching it. 

[FinnishViewer]

Quote

I might just want a classic story where the person I think is the "good guy" wins (and where the "good guy" could actually be, y'know, female).

Not sure if you meant this, but you don't think any of the female chefs who have won Top Chef can be considered 'good'?

[cooksdelight]

1 hour ago, FinnishViewer said:

Not sure if you meant this, but you don't think any of the female chefs who have won Top Chef can be considered 'good'?

Brooke was the female winner I liked the least. Heck of all of them! She skated on so many challenges by not adhering to guidelines. When she lost to Kristin in the finale, she whined for months. When she came back a second time, it was like it was pre-ordained that she was going to win. I thought several of her dishes were not as good as others, but I’m neither judge nor producer so what do I know.

[phoenix780]

23 hours ago, FinnishViewer said:

Not sure if you meant this, but you don't think any of the female chefs who have won Top Chef can be considered 'good'?

I wasn't really referring to the personalities of the female chefs who won, more to the fact that there are so few of them who did, to a point where it starts to feel to me like it's not a possible outcome. It could happen, it's a nice twist on the formula when it does. But, usually somehow a guy is going to pull out the win. That's my perception of things, anyway.

So, what I was (inarticulately) getting at was that I prefer competition shows now where I feel like anyone talented enough can win. 

[cooksdelight]

Last season’s winner was a woman, and a very deserving winner.

[BlackberryJam]

So...I've been rewatching old episodes/seasons and I realized I am completely unable to rewatch the New Orleans season (9) because of Paul Qui. Bummer.

Also in my rewatch, I found Blais insufferable. 

I forgot how much I loved Dale T doing grilled cheese made with an iron on the Target challenge in All Stars. Bourdain was the guest judge on that. Another rough watch. 

[Lamb18]

i thought Paul Qui was in the Texas season.

[BlackberryJam]

You're right. Sorry. It was Texas.

[BlackberryJam]

Not sure where to put this, but this seemed enough. I’ve binged so many old episodes that last night I dreamed the cheftestants were staying in my house during the competition. Bed space was limited so I was sharing with Tre, not a hardship but it wasn’t that kind of dream.

After one elimination they were sitting in my living room and saying things like, “I went to a diner in LA and what did they serve? Bam, a horseradish crusted carpaccio with arugula radish sauce on a bed of lightly dressed lemongrass salad by Rand Handerson and I was like whoa, dude.” And it went on and on (I wish I could remember the actual dishes), so much so that I was choking on the douche fumes and Tre leaned over and apologized.

My brain is going wonky.

[Ashforth]

4 hours ago, BlackberryJam said:

last night I dreamed the cheftestants were staying in my house during the competition. Bed space was limited so I was sharing with Tre, not a hardship but it wasn’t that kind of dream.

That's a damn shame 😎

[ProudMary]

I wasn't quite sure where to put this, but I'm curious if anyone else is doing the Primetimer-suggested Top Chef Curated Binge-Watch? There are threads for many different television shows in the new Curated Binges Forum and the one for Top Chef is "All the Restauarnt Wars." I'm through Season 11 (New Orleans) on my RW binge-watch and I'm really enjoying it. Here's a link to the Top Chef thread in that forum.

Curated Binges>Top Chef: All the Restaurant Wars

 

[lovinbob]

On 7/6/2019 at 11:22 PM, Ashforth said:

Over the past few days I re-watched Season One on HULU. WOW. I had kind of forgotten how much of a total arrogant aggressive jerk Stephen was. I mean, crazily self-centered and asshole-ish.

Tiffani was a jerk at times, but I guess I had more sympathy for her all these years later once it got past her cringeworthy arrogant moments (the kid challenge - jesus, suck it up Tiff).

Her "team" fucked her over in the finale except for Dave's dessert (which she then tried to take credit for... no, ma'am). All in all, very interesting and enjoyable to watch again. Even Katie Lee didn't seem all that bad!

I binge-watched season 1 this weekend and it was so funny to see the origins of this show. Some truly mediocre chefs, some very nice people (Andrea, Lisa, Candice), some creepy to crazy people (Bryan Hill, Miguel, Ken Lee), an utter douchebag (Stephen), and the stars (Harold, Lee Anne, Tiffani, Dave). I completely forgot about Cynthia Sestivo, who was annoying to me but knowing that her father was dying I give her a pass. I agree that Tiffani was not as bad as I remembered her, and it is really surprising to me that she was so hated. I really enjoyed and appreciated Dave (and also dined at Crave back in the day and loved it), but he definitely had his share of issues. It SUCKED that he got eliminated from the Vegas final right off the bat. It is interesting that he hasn't been back in the Top Chef family all that much—at least from what I can recall.

It's amazing how much has changed. Ken Lee's deranged behavior was a total liability and I'm pretty sure he would not have made the show these days. Brian Hill was completely disgusting to and about the women in the house--in the MeToo moment, it is beyond a needle scratch. The whole sex shop challenge was a massive lawsuit waiting to happen, IMO. 

And then the reunion. It was very clear to me all these years later that so many of the conflicts in that reunion occurred because everyone was hammered. Stephen could barely get the words out. Pretty sure that a tipsy Tiffani was trying to be cool and funny (and rise above her hurt feelings) about the "Bitch, Bitch" t-shirt, but she succeeded in completely reinforcing Dave's beefs about her, that she was always trying to undermine him and steal his thunder. 

What a mess. 

[RebeccatheWriter]

On 5/18/2020 at 1:36 PM, lovinbob said:

I binge-watched season 1 this weekend and it was so funny to see the origins of this show. Some truly mediocre chefs, some very nice people (Andrea, Lisa, Candice), some creepy to crazy people (Bryan Hill, Miguel, Ken Lee), an utter douchebag (Stephen), and the stars (Harold, Lee Anne, Tiffani, Dave). I completely forgot about Cynthia Sestivo, who was annoying to me but knowing that her father was dying I give her a pass. I agree that Tiffani was not as bad as I remembered her, and it is really surprising to me that she was so hated. I really enjoyed and appreciated Dave (and also dined at Crave back in the day and loved it), but he definitely had his share of issues. It SUCKED that he got eliminated from the Vegas final right off the bat. It is interesting that he hasn't been back in the Top Chef family all that much—at least from what I can recall.

It's amazing how much has changed. Ken Lee's deranged behavior was a total liability and I'm pretty sure he would not have made the show these days. Brian Hill was completely disgusting to and about the women in the house--in the MeToo moment, it is beyond a needle scratch. The whole sex shop challenge was a massive lawsuit waiting to happen, IMO. 

And then the reunion. It was very clear to me all these years later that so many of the conflicts in that reunion occurred because everyone was hammered. Stephen could barely get the words out. Pretty sure that a tipsy Tiffani was trying to be cool and funny (and rise above her hurt feelings) about the "Bitch, Bitch" t-shirt, but she succeeded in completely reinforcing Dave's beefs about her, that she was always trying to undermine him and steal his thunder. 

What a mess. 

Season 1 has not aged well and seems like a half thought out experiment with cue cards. 

Dave and Tiffani were both on last week's Chopped with Ted Allen. Dave was still sort of manic, neurotic in that way that makes you cross to the other side of the street to avoid while watching to see what happens next. Tiffani was one of the judges. Ted had Dave speak to how he and Tiffani both know each other. He essentially said that a long time ago they had been on a cooking competition show together. She added that it was back when dinosaurs walked the earth. 

[PaulaO]

Doing a rewatch of a few seasons and here are my humble opinions.  Mike I. (season 6) talks and acts just like a 6th grader.  I cannot stand Jen Carroll from season 6.  I want to punch her.  I really hated her on season 8.  Season 5 didn’t have any strong chefs but I loved Carla, Fabio, and Stefan.  Hosea was o.k., no spectacular meals from him.  Couldn’t stand Leah.  Kevin G. from season 6 seems like the nicest person.  I refuse to watch season 2 because of the head shaving incident.  Fucking hated Lisa from season 4.  She wasn’t worthy to be in the final.  She had anger seething out every pore.  Last, I have no problem with Blaise...

[carrps]

On 5/20/2020 at 8:23 AM, RebeccatheWriter said:

Season 1 has not aged well and seems like a half thought out experiment with cue cards. 

Dave and Tiffani were both on last week's Chopped with Ted Allen. Dave was still sort of manic, neurotic in that way that makes you cross to the other side of the street to avoid while watching to see what happens next. Tiffani was one of the judges. Ted had Dave speak to how he and Tiffani both know each other. He essentially said that a long time ago they had been on a cooking competition show together. She added that it was back when dinosaurs walked the earth. 

Yeah, and she said they're cool with each other now. But like you said....Dave is seriously buggy.

[Rai]

I'm rewatching season 3 again. I don't know why, but I find it really rewatchable. It's possibly the season that had the most returning contestants for other seasons, and the conflicts all ended up being pretty low stakes. Plus, Hung is amazing to watch cook (if a little dangerous).

I love season 1 because it had a good mix of people even if the cooking wasn't always up to a certain level. I dislike season 2, partly because of the people, but partly because for all their collective bragging, almost none of the chefs really ever produced a dish that made me go, "Wow, that's a pro." Season 3 is where it felt like the show really kicked into gear in terms of restaurant-quality cooking.

...but not always. The Elks Lodge episode is next. Well, I'll get to see Alfred Portale get really mad at meatloaf. That was a good time.

ETA: And! Season 3 introduced the mise en place relay challenge, To this day, Hung's skills in breaking down a chicken are legendary. While Casey's skills in chopping onions...a cautionary tale.

Edited June 2, 2020 by Rai

[Lovecat]

I’m listening to the back catalogue of the Pack Your Knives podcast, recommended by someone in these parts.  Their first season was Colorado, and they just adore Chef Fati...every time they mention her, my heart hurts a little bit 😞

Edited June 3, 2020 by Lovecat

[Rai]

Okay, controversial topic: Which season is more unwatchable for y'all? Season 2 or 9? I find they're the only two I really can't rewatch. The bullying dynamics are terrible, of course, and also...most of the food is uninteresting, so it's mainly two seasons of Tom looking DEEPLY disappointed in everyone. I think Season 9 by a hair is more unwatchable, but just by a hair. Plus, it at least features that guy getting kicked off almost immediately, which is weirdly satisfying.

(That said, any season with Toby Young is close to being unwatchable. Even season 6. I said it!)

[MerBearStare]

To answer your question @Rai, I find season 2 much more unwatchable than season 9. Beverly was treated terribly by Heather and Sarah, but Grayson defended her multiple times. (It's a shame that Grayson came back in a later season and had a shitty attitude; I really liked her after her first season.) Heather was eliminated pretty early in the season, which just left Sarah to hate on Beverly by herself. In season 2, everyone was against Marcel, culminating in an actual assault. Even Elia, his one friend, turned on him. Plus, at least Sarah didn't win her season. It was awful seeing Ilan win. 

Speaking of winners, Top Chef reminds me of American Idol as the past winners are kind of a mixed bag. Harold from season 1, Hung from season 3, Stephanie from season 4, Michael from season 6, Richard from the first All-Stars, Kristen from season 10, Mei from season 12, Brooke from season 14, and Joe from season 15 all seemed like solid choices when they won and they've been pretty successful. Ilan from season 2, Hosea from season 5, Kevin from season 7, Paul from season 9, Nicholas from season 11,  and Jeremy (who I don't even remember) from season 13 seemed like really underwhelming winners and we haven't really seen anything from them since their wins, though I don't follow them super closely. (I didn't include Kelsey since she won pretty recently.)

[Bastet]

11 hours ago, Rai said:

Which season is more unwatchable for y'all? Season 2 or 9?

I've never re-watched any old season, and don't have as clear of memories of them as some do, but looking up the cheftestants from those two seasons, I'd say season two hands down.  It had a bunch of folks I don't remember, Marcel whom I absolutely could not stand, and then a few I did enjoy watching who went and physically assaulted Marcel for the offense of being unbearably annoying.  No thanks; they should have all been kicked off, and I'm never watching that again.

Season nine had a bunch of folks I don't remember, Grayson whom I quite liked, and Paul whom I could not stand.  So even though he was the winner, I'd still rather sit through that season than the one with an attack, where there's the added "bonus" of a mediocre chef like Ilan winning. 

Edited June 18, 2020 by Bastet

[CherryMalotte]

Season Two of TC is like Season Eight of Project Runway...I never ever want to see it again, nor do I need to.

 

[Pilotman]

I started to rewatch season 6 as that was my first full season of Top Chef I got into( I started watching somewhere during season 5). My god.... I just got done with episode 6 and the drama is just nauseating. It really is making me appreciate what we saw just now with All Stars LA. Doesn't help the fact this season had Mike I... I remember him being an obnoxious jerk, but when I started to rewatch the season, I wanted him gone episode 1 when he made that sexist remark about losing to a girl if Jen beat him in the quick fire. Then it moved onto hating on Robin( I know it was Eli who said it, but imagine if it was Kevin that made that snarky comment about surviving cancer and using that as your story in Top Chef). Ash pretty much said it to her face that he doesn't think she belongs there with saying all he is going to do now is make a salad and crisp...... You had small flare ups during All Stars( mostly due the antics of Malarky and the plate drama with Kevin), but nothing close to what season 6 had.....

After I finish 6 I plan to move on to 8 and then finish 9 and 10 as I dropped off watching Top Chef at that time and haven't seen 11-16. I only came back for All Stars LA because Bryan V was returning( big fan of his food and try to go to Volt once 1-2 months Pre-COVID). This season made me realize how I missed Top Chef. And I hope if Top Chef can continue, we get more out of what I saw this season than what I am seeing in S6. I may drop off again if we get more drama and lose the focus on the food....

[PamelaMaeSnap]

So ... I started watching TC during S7 and probably did not become totally diehard for a few seasons after that (because I do not really remember the winners of S8 or S9 THAT clearly though I remember some of the cheftestants) ... 

But what with the current "climate" and the fact that Mr. Snappy and I are now in Day 109 of The Hunkering, we decided (read: I had the idea and convinced him) that thanks to the prepaid magic of Hulu, we'd go back to S1 and watch an episode a day ... at the very least we'd get to watch the cooking pron and the travel pron, plus we'd get to re-meet some of the cheftestants we got to meet as All-Stars or by reputation. Right now, we just finished S1 E6. We have lots of time. 

I don't think I've detested cheftestants as much as I do snotty Tiffani and supercilious Stephen. But give me time. Also re: Brian Hill, he struck me as all over the place etc. BUT I thought that his elimination per se was not yet his time to go based on how they framed it ... I didn't think he was long for the season, but felt that despite his carrots being mushy, the judges (especially Tom) harped on how important it was to meet the wishes of the clients (in this case, the kids at the Boys and Girls Club) and he was the ONLY cheftestant who really aimed to please and to entertain the kids (what the judges CLAIMED they wanted). I f*cking HATE cooked carrots but I might like them with maple sauce. 

Also? I think I've actually BEEN at that B&G club ... back in the days before I retired, part of my last few years at one of my jobs included our going to cover a summer MLB All-Star period event that included visiting whatever the local B&G club was as a municipal event ... we were in San Francisco one summer and I'm 99% sure this was the same club we visited. NOT the same year. 

Math class is hard, but it seems like if we watch one episode a day we'll be good for at least a year. 

Sh*t, I hope this is over before then.

 

Edited July 4, 2020 by PamelaMaeSnap

[KatWay]

I'm watching S2 right now and it's ridiculous, I don't even like Marcel and he's clearly an arrogant douchebag, but the response to him is so out of proportion to what he actually does. You'd think he was murdering puppies off screen or something with the deep loathing everyone has for him, over...what, some annoying comments? Like, it's unlikely he's somehow acting worse off cam cause while the contestants all love shittalking him they can barely bring up actual reasons for doing so. Frank threatens him with physical violence over a TOOTHBRUSH? and it wasn't even on the floor! it was still in the toiletry bag, and had no business sitting on the kitchen counter anway. And Betty is unhinged, lashing out at him at every opportunity. Marcel doesn't actually insult anyone personally for the most part, he just makes his douchey comments. Surely a bunch of adults should be able to handle that without resorting to name-calling, threats and physical assault? the hell.

my theory is that they all realised they were a bunch of unpleasant people and their only chance of not turning on each other immediately was to pick a common enemy to hate. You can't tell me others didn't dislike Betty and her constant whining and screaming, or Elia and her bratty behavior or Mike and his general inaptitude.