S11.E04: Around the World in a Day

[Drogo]

It's time for the celebrity recruits to tackle international food, so Anne Burrell and Rachael Ray test their knowledge of world cuisine by playing a fast-paced food game called "What in the World?!" Then, the recruits are forced to stretch their cooking boundaries by making their own hand-pulled noodles from scratch. The two celebrities with the worst dishes battle it out in an international-themed blind elimination challenge.

[gryphon]

I'm glad no one went home.  I'm really hoping Melissa and Nora do really well next week.  

[Mondrianyone]

Am I a bad person for thinking that Carmen's fall was staged and her injuries are bogus?  When she fell last week, I thought it looked very choreographed.  I figured the reason was getting an extended shot of her ass on the show, but maybe it was to give her an excuse to leave.  She certainly jumped up from the floor looking totally fine.

I need to find other things to think about.

[Bastet]

Despite all but literally throwing up my hands last week, I decided to watch again when there was nothing else on at the time of the second airing.

I made it eight minutes before I wanted to bow out again.  How fucking stupid to act like there’s any “we have to taste this again to figure out what it can be!” suspense where you both have only two of the six wrong, and know which two they are – just go switch those two!  It reminds me of a baby shower I endured where two peopled had tied in the game where they had to guess how many whatevers were in a jar and whomever came closest to the number would win.  The stupid host said A guessed Y and B guessed Z and they were tied, so for the tie-breaker, A and B would guess again.  Both just sat there and looked at her like, um, it’s the midpoint of Y and Z?

Plus the whole let’s trot out foreign words/foods as fodder, and the silent Asian guy to pull noodles.  Bleh.

If you were really teaching a total cooking novice, you’d give them easy-peel shrimp.  And, in a previous episode, a chicken whose head had already been chopped off.  You don’t need to make them jump right to the “gross” aspects of ingredient prep to teach them how to compose a meal.  Just more manufactured drama, which requires one to rely on the entertainment value of the contestants in the absence of legitimate instruction and learning, which is why I thought I might like the celebrity version when I can’t stand the regular version.  And they’re trying, as are Anne and Rachel, but this is painful sometimes.

Fundamentally, I don’t find playing stupid funny.  So self-deprecating (or good-natured mocking by the hosts) humor about that of which one is legitimately ignorant and the “duh!” moment when it sinks in is humorous.  Faking befuddlement by basic items and terms is not.  Especially at this stage of the game (and, gee, all of a sudden everyone was doing well with minor errors - they couldn't possibly have already known the basics of cooking, could they?)

Despite her extensive credits, I don’t know that I’ve ever seen Vivica A. Fox in anything other than Independence Day, and I definitely don’t know anything about her off camera, but I’m digging her on this.

Going back to willfully-ignorant dunces, we come to me -- I haven’t paid proper attention to who was on what team, and who was eliminated.  Was Carmen Electra on the team that was lopsidedly depleted, and thus her injury knocking her out of competition was quite a convenient storyline to make it closer to even (and thus no one going home today, to maintain something close to balance)?  And is this – unlike Chopped – a series in which those who are eliminated still get a lesser donation for their charity?

[spankydoll]

Was Carmen under the influence? I enjoyed watching her. 

Bastet - I thought the exact same thing when there were two items that were incorrect - just swap 'em boo! But the teams had a myriad of options. 

[Mondrianyone]

I think they had more dishes to choose from than just the number they had to ID.  If that's the case--and that's how it looked to me--then it wasn't just a simple matter of switching the two wrong ones.

[Bastet]

15 minutes ago, Mondrianyone said:

I think they had more dishes to choose from than just the number they had to ID. 

Oh, so there were seven (or more) dishes they had to plug into the right country/dish slot?  If so, then I withdraw my complaint on that front and chalk it up to another instance of me not paying proper attention to this fluffball of a show and thus being as dense as the contestants.

[CoyoteBlue]

Yeah, I thought the same thing about swapping the two, but the numbers on the plates showed there were more of them than spots on the pedestals. What I don't get is why they thought tasting the food would have ANYTHING to do with their ability to identify a dish they've never even heard of before. "C'mon, taste it, people!" Oh... yeah... now I can tell that's totally.... babaganoushy....? Unless they just came out of a crash course in recipes for each of those, they wouldn't know what flavors to expect unless they'd already had it before and like Perez's croquets, could immediately identify them anyways.
 

ETA - Also, I really really want to know WTF happened to Carmen, as I don't buy that fall making her feel she can't function safely in the kitchen.

Edited September 14, 2017 by CoyoteBlue
Where in the world is Carmen Electra?

[Koalagirl]

I'm thinking that either they had trouble filling the slots and Carmen agreed to participate for a couple of episodes and then bow out or she got an job offer elsewhere that she wanted to take. 

[seacliffsal]

I thought from the beginning of the episode that nobody would be sent home as they still have a set number of episodes to produce.  However, Rachel seemed to give it away when Vivica started crying and Rachel was all 'Perez, you do the elimination challenge.'  I was totally on Perez' side when he complained about that in a confessional.  Rachel should have left Vivica in the challenge even after she started crying.  I loved Melissa jumping on the crying bandwagon and that since she was crying Nora should replace her in the challenge.

I do get a kick out of Melissa.  I like her silly humor.  Overall, I had a few laugh out loud moments during this episode.  More than I can say about may sitcoms...

[mlp]

Quote

 What I don't get is why they thought tasting the food would have ANYTHING to do with their ability to identify a dish they've never even heard of before. 

I was going to say the same thing.  I'd never even heard of a couple of the dishes they were supposed to find.  How would I know what they were supposed to taste like?  Also, recognizing a dish doesn't necessarily mean someone would know its origin.  I know that a pasty is a hand pie of British origin and I'd think that was one everyone would know but, based upon whatshisname's response, I would be wrong.

It looked to me like each team had a whole table full of dishes to choose from.  Swapping the two that were wrong wouldn't have worked unless they just got lucky with their wrong choices.

I thought Carmen's fall looked a bit suspicious when it happened because Anne made no move to rush to the scene of the accident.  I had the feeling that she expected it.  Carmen's leaving evened up the teams a bit and eliminating no one kept the production schedule on track.  Yes, I'm a cynic.

[Amarsir]

2 hours ago, mlp said:

I was going to say the same thing.  I'd never even heard of a couple of the dishes they were supposed to find.  How would I know what they were supposed to taste like?

Also, we the audience still don't know (unless you did from the start). We got drama about pushing the button and lots of people confused if baba ganoush was a dish or a country. At no point did anyone learn "baba ganoush is like hummus but with eggplant instead of chickpeas." It's not educational for them or the audience.

[biakbiak]

3 hours ago, mlp said:

looked to me like each team had a whole table full of dishes to choose from.  Swapping the two that were wrong wouldn't have worked unless they just got lucky with their wrong choices.

There were 10 dishes on each table, they were numbered, and they had to identify six dishes.

Melissa continues to annoy the crap out of me, her flirting with the noodle guy and her stupid noodle dance were so not funny to me I almost felt sorry for her.

[MajorWoody]

17 hours ago, Mondrianyone said:

Am I a bad person for thinking that Carmen's fall was staged and her injuries are bogus?  When she fell last week, I thought it looked very choreographed.  I figured the reason was getting an extended shot of her ass on the show, but maybe it was to give her an excuse to leave.  She certainly jumped up from the floor looking totally fine.

I need to find other things to think about.

You're not bad, just realistic. That fall was as phony as almost everything else this eason.

4 hours ago, mlp said:

 

I thought Carmen's fall looked a bit suspicious when it happened because Anne made no move to rush to the scene of the accident.  I had the feeling that she expected it.  Carmen's leaving evened up the teams a bit and eliminating no one kept the production schedule on track.  Yes, I'm a cynic.

 

That was my thought exactly. Not only did Anne not rush over, no one did. The camera just lingered, the cheesy music was added, and she miraculously rose after an appropriately suspenseful interval. If it was a real spill, just like with the occasional knife cut, there would have been some concern, people rushing over, and medics being called. That whole scene was total BS.

 

I have given up on watching and recording this show any further. I will keep up with the posts, though, because that's the best thing about this show,

[mlp]

Quote

 If it was a real spill, just like with the occasional knife cut, there would have been some concern, people rushing over, and medics being called. 

That's a very good point.  Medics are always called for injuries because liability is a scary word.  There's no way the hosts, the unseen producers who are just out of camera range and the medics you know are there would stand by when a contestant goes splat on a hard floor.

[eurekagirl mOo]

Well I (personally and JMO) figured Carmen fell on her big fake boobs and that she got up because she's a "show must go on" trooper and had pain that night. Went to a Dr. Who said "No running around, jumping, reaching, or picking up heavy things until this is healed" and THAT"S why she left.  Even a seat belt in a accident can cause massive damage for fake boobs. I fell at work, hopped up, NO NO I'm fine.....pain that night...sprained ankle....it happens.

I just LOVE this show. Maybe because I'm old and easily amused but I get a kick out of it and LOL frequently. It's just silly and fun. Top Chef I take seriously. This? Just fun. 

[Snarklepuss]

1 hour ago, mlp said:

That's a very good point.  Medics are always called for injuries because liability is a scary word.  There's no way the hosts, the unseen producers who are just out of camera range and the medics you know are there would stand by when a contestant goes splat on a hard floor.

Exactly.  Plus I did a search online and couldn't find anything on her injury as a result of the show, which is unusual because every significant event is usually talked about somewhere.

[Violet Penner]

I also thought the Carmen "injury" was out of left field. 

I can't wait until Melissa leaves. She is so over the top and camera hungry. Please leave my TV!!

[spankydoll]

I think that Melissa is a riot.I also think that  Carmen was on something. I really enjoyed Carmen's performance. If that bachelor guy wins I will be ticked off

[Simon47]

I actually feel really sorry for Carmen, maybe because of her fall, or her attitude. Something's just going inside my head. Does anyone know what it is?

Paris is a good cook, but he's just a bit too OTT.

Vivica is also a good cook, but I can't even listen to her curse or talk trash about things.

Nora is okay, but she just doesn't interest me. She is not that funny or amusing.

Sean is a freaking pain in the butt. When I see him, I also see Jesse Palmer.

Melissa is a butthead. She is just way too OTT.

[Niki50]

I also thought Carmen Electra was on something. The fall was so choreographed it would be embarrassing to be known for. I also searched the Internet for an answer and finding nothing just confirmed my suspicions.