Masterchef (US) - General Discussion

[preeya]

TEAM CHALLENGE  =  ORGANIZED CHAOS

[preeya]

I can't believe I heard this from Subha:

"Sarah, can I give you a hand in turning the knob?"

and she replied:  "Keep your hands off my chicken"

[preeya]

28 minutes ago, zibnchy said:

Can Micah pick himself because I have a crazy idea that he's going to pick himself. I get that the idea is they want him to pick a strong player but Dorian, Sara, and Jamie (I can't believe I know names!) don't deserve that and I don't know if Micah will pick on Subha. Subha is an easy target but Micah seems like a man who might fall on his sword for his team.

The twist is totally unfair to the entire team and in particular Micah or anyone else who might have captained a winning effort. This "twist" detracts from that win immensely. I hope whoever is chosen hits it out of the park and triumphs in the challenge.

[galaxychaser]

Subha will probably go home. 

[jewel21]

43 minutes ago, preeya said:

I can't believe I heard this from Subha:

"Sarah, can I give you a hand in turning the knob?"

and she replied:  "Keep your hands off my chicken"

I actually heard him ask if he could help her with the chicken. Now I wish I hadn't deleted the episode from my PVR so I can double check, lol. 

[preeya]

28 minutes ago, jewel21 said:

I actually heard him ask if he could help her with the chicken. Now I wish I hadn't deleted the episode from my PVR so I can double check, lol. 

[Gramto6]

I thought Subha too, but Micah falling on his sword makes sense too.

[jewel21]

23 minutes ago, preeya said:

Well I stand corrected. Oh, Subha. 

[Samwise979]

Re: Micah maybe chosing himself, there was one contestant (can't remember season and may have been MC Canada) that won safety and when he saw what the elimination challenge was he said he wanted to cook. It was some fancy ingredient and he didn't want to miss out and was confident he would make something spectacular. So they let him cook (giving up his immunity) and he ended up in bottom 3 and almost got sent home. 

First thing I thought was, bye Subha! But Subha's not a real threat, Micah may choose a strong player to get out. 

[Aerobicidal]

On the tenth season of Masterchef, Gordon gave to me

A final ten that’s stunning to see

One septic grandma

One Harvard Harvard

One bumbling Subha

One young lady Dorian

One Minnesotan who makes ethnic food

One ‘90s grunge hipster

Four hoodies on Fred

One sustainable fisherman

One stunning former interrogator

And a blond Barbie wannabe, Bri

Given the edit Subha’s been getting, I wouldn’t be surprised if—when the thunderstorm started—he found a large piece of metal and wandered off into the middle of a field hoping to “learn about lightning.”

Noah: “I’ve cooked in a lot of crap before.” In fact, after this amazing season is over, his food dream is to open the Septic Saloon, America’s first in-sewer dining experience. It’ll be like that Taiwanese Modern Toilet Restaurant, but more rustic and much more stunning.

Ten laps to go, ten contestants, ten times ten portions of food, ten planets in the solar system, ten bones in the human foot, ten original members of The Jets, ten fingers removing haricots verts from a human appendix, ten times I’ve lost track of this episode because it’s ten million times more boring than Andy Warhol’s Sleep.

Gordon’s reaction to the undercooked salmon was like that classic stereotype in which someone screams “No!” and the camera pans backward ten times to a long shot, and then the entire metro area, and then the country, and then the planet, and then a constellation that looks like a stunning pair of overalls.

Oshkosh oh my fucking B’Gosh!

"That was a very exciting race." Yes, Gordon, I haven't been so excited by a race since my cousin was in the final heat of the ten meter dash when she was in pre-school.

Micah, I think you meant to say you are absolutely on cloud ten. Not cloud nine. Stunning, amazing cloud ten.

[mlp]

This episode was one of the phonier ones they've ever done.  Of course Gordon "won" the "race" at the beginning.  There wasn't a soul in the stands so I'm not sure why all those cars were driving around and around.  I didn't notice any pit crews during the "race" but there were a lot more people eating than there were cars.  Also, no one seemed very wet during the torrential downpour.  And where did those tents come from?

It seemed to me that both teams were doing better while cooking than most teams have done in previous seasons.  Noah was right about why his team ended up behind but he probably should have said something to Shari instead of following her poor direction.  Gordon always finds a reason to throw something during these outdoor challenges which is just appalling behavior on the part of a supposed mentor and leader IMO.   All the judges wading in and "helping" while yelling was totally counterproductive.  Aaron is such a jerk.  I had to keep reminding myself that this is a staged TV show because I was getting half mad.

I also had the idea that Micah will choose himself.  I think putting him in that position was really unkind.

Edited August 8, 2019 by mlp
add something

[Brookside]

At the beginning Noah talking about the cooks "congealing".  I suppose it's apt for a bunch of forgettable cooks, and it made laugh,  but still. . . .

[GaT]

3 hours ago, galaxychaser said:

Subha will probably go home. 

We can only hope. I don't think there has been a more useless contestant on this show, how do you burn food you're not even cooking?

Edited August 8, 2019 by GaT

[El maestro]

3 hours ago, Samwise979 said:

Re: Micah maybe chosing himself, there was one contestant (can't remember season and may have been MC Canada) that won safety and when he saw what the elimination challenge was he said he wanted to cook. It was some fancy ingredient and he didn't want to miss out and was confident he would make something spectacular. So they let him cook (giving up his immunity) and he ended up in bottom 3 and almost got sent home. 

First thing I thought was, bye Subha! But Subha's not a real threat, Micah may choose a strong player to get out. 

I remember that one, he was David. In an earlier episode the runner up,  Line, decided. to save herself and everybody was giving her a hard time. Later David didn’t save himself when he could and he was almost sent home during elimination. Eventually David would win MC Canada 2.

MC Canada 2 was one of the best MC editions I’ve ever watched. MC Canada 3 was rubbish.

Edited August 8, 2019 by El maestro
Being bilingual is great.... always trying to remember how the heck you say that word....

[El maestro]

Micah has to choose wisely, Dorian, Sarah or Jamie, because they seem to be his strongest rivals in MC.

But.....

what if if the producers are just cutting whenever Shuba cooks good things? Today Sarah admitted that he didn’t do good in team challenges.

in MC 6 Claudia was considered the weakest rival. She was saved from elimination challenges because she was not considered a true threat....but she ended up winning the contest.

[mertensia]

Group cooking challenges are boring. They all follow the same formula.

Also, cooked carrots? No wonder the blue team lost.

[El maestro]

I don’t like group cooking challenges, for the  same reasons I hate working in teams.

You always have the leader who doesn’t know how to lead and the person who believes he/she should be the boss screwing up the whole  team. The “I told you so” or “I knew that everything was wrong “ person.

Edited August 8, 2019 by El maestro

[hhawks]

2 hours ago, mlp said:

This episode was one of the phonier ones they've ever done.  Of course Gordon "won" the "race" at the beginning.  There wasn't a soul in the stands so I'm not sure why all those cars were driving around and around.  I didn't notice any pit crews during the "race" but there were a lot more people eating than there were cars.  Also, no one seemed very wet during the torrential downpour.  And where did those tents come from?

It seemed to me that both teams were doing better while cooking than most teams have done in previous seasons.  Noah was right about why his team ended up behind but he probably should have said something to Shari instead of following her poor direction.  Gordon always finds a reason to throw something during these outdoor challenges which is just appalling behavior on the part of a supposed mentor and leader IMO.   All the judges wading in and "helping" while yelling was totally counterproductive.  Aaron is such a jerk.  I had to keep reminding myself that this is a staged TV show because I was getting half mad.

I also had the idea that Micah will choose himself.  I think putting him in that position was really unkind.

I had the same though that this was the fakest episode I've ever seen.  Why did everything seem so contrived?  Did the three hosts actually race on the track, or just pose getting out of their cars?  My take on the twist at the end is that Subha was edited to be so incompetent, all he did was chop rosemary, that they contrived a way to send him home despite being on the winning team.

[hhawks]

On 8/6/2019 at 10:40 AM, eel21788 said:

I'm beyond immune. I'm numb. I get so tired of hearing, "my tragic life has made me the person I am today." It shouldn't take a major tragedy to get you to have some compassion or motivation or whatever they claim they've gained from their tragic lives. Those are just basic human emotions. There is something seriously wrong with you it you couldn't figure out how to motivate yourself without a tragedy. Guess what? People who haven't faced being homeless and living in their cars are motivated by their dreams, too.

Yes, I think Marvin Gaye said it best in his Let's Get It On...."We're all sensitive people with so much to give."

[mertensia]

1 hour ago, hhawks said:

My take on the twist at the end is that Subha was edited to be so incompetent, all he did was chop rosemary, that they contrived a way to send him home despite being on the winning team.

Yeah, it was the same trick we saw them pull with the tag team. Subha ran his butt off there, too, but they edited him to look like he did sweet fuck-all. In the montage  this episode you could see a glimpse of Subha's hands helping with cooking the chicken. Also I think he helped plate.

And I am so unimpressed with the bullying by the judges of Subha and that they let the other contestants bully him.

Edited August 8, 2019 by mertensia

[adhoc]

Didn't Aaron caution a team at one point, saying something like "you are not the racers--those [people driving the cars] are the racers", and then he immediately followed that up with "Go, go, go!"? 

[cameron]

5 hours ago, GaT said:

We can only hope. I don't think there has been a more useless contestant on this show, how do you burn food you're not even cooking?

Totally agree.  Put him out of his misery!!

[cameron]

4 hours ago, mertensia said:

Yeah, it was the same trick we saw them pull with the tag team. Subha ran his butt off there, too, but they edited him to look like he did sweet fuck-all. In the montage  this episode you could see a glimpse of Subha's hands helping with cooking the chicken. Also I think he helped plate.

And I am so unimpressed with the bullying by the judges of Subha and that they let the other contestants bully him.

You mean like when he asked if he could turn the knob on Sarah's chickens?

8 hours ago, jewel21 said:

Well I stand corrected. Oh, Subha. 

Just went back and watch that with closed captioning.  He did ask that about helping turn the knob.

[xcrayon2215x]

I could see Micah not picking Subha and trying to get Dorian out. The blue side deserved to lose if Ramsay's help can't even save them.

[DoctorK]

10 hours ago, mlp said:

And where did those tents come from?

I wondered about this then saw a wide shot where the cars were each under a car sized mini tent, looked like the same size as the ones used to cover the cooking area. Quite possible that the race track has a bunch of portable covers for the cars in the event of a rain delay, but then I would have expected every top to have multiple product ads, it isn't NASCAR with out STP logos on every flat surface.

ETA: Definitely fakey but the most fake show was where they had what appeared to be a single seat F-16 land and taxi up, then showed Gordon in a flight suit with a helmet as if he flew the plane himself. It is (barely) credible that Gordon drove one of the cars around the track a bit, but flying in solo, not so much.

Edited August 8, 2019 by DoctorK
more snark

[OoogleEyes]

Are we supposed to believe that Noah hiked the Appalachian Trail??

[Aerobicidal]

1 hour ago, OoogleEyes said:

Are we supposed to believe that Noah hiked the Appalachian Trail??

I believe he is a legend in that part of America, having traveled through rural communities from Georgia to Maine, installing septic systems in every community that previously relied only on outhouses.

In those parts, he's known as Johnny Septicseed.

[mlp]

I feel a bit sorry for Subha.  He seems to be a very good cook but he gets flustered by frenetic activity around him and then tries to be a team player but ends up getting in the way.  And the way Gordon and Joe talk to him is despicable.  

[cameron]

30 minutes ago, mlp said:

I feel a bit sorry for Subha.  He seems to be a very good cook but he gets flustered by frenetic activity around him and then tries to be a team player but ends up getting in the way.  And the way Gordon and Joe talk to him is despicable.  

He's been in over his head for a while now.  Surprise that he made it this far.

[DEL901]

45 minutes ago, mlp said:

I feel a bit sorry for Subha.  He seems to be a very good cook but he gets flustered by frenetic activity around him and then tries to be a team player but ends up getting in the way.  And the way Gordon and Joe talk to him is despicable.  

Agree.  Some people aren't made for the team challenges.  

I bet Gordon's hoping that Micah chooses Subha to cook.  I'm sure that's why this "twist" was introduced.

[hhawks]

5 hours ago, xcrayon2215x said:

I could see Micah not picking Subha and trying to get Dorian out. The blue side deserved to lose if Ramsay's help can't even save them.

I don't think choosing Dorian to face elimination is a good idea.  Micah and Dorian do seem to care for each other and the blonde Barbie Bri

5 hours ago, xcrayon2215x said:

I could see Micah not picking Subha and trying to get Dorian out. The blue side deserved to lose if Ramsay's help can't even save them.

I don't see Micah trying to get Dorian out, as those two seem pretty tight.  Dorian should have no trouble eliminating the blonde Barbie Bri, who has been in the bottowm for a few weeks in a row now, so she and Subha are next in line for elimination.  Yes, I was getting angry and was prepared for a blue side win last night, given all of Ramsay's biased help.

[hhawks]

53 minutes ago, mlp said:

I feel a bit sorry for Subha.  He seems to be a very good cook but he gets flustered by frenetic activity around him and then tries to be a team player but ends up getting in the way.  And the way Gordon and Joe talk to him is despicable.  

I was shocked when Gordon said "Earth to Subha…."  very disrespectful.  He's certainly not a shitty cook like me.

[galaxychaser]

Gordon fancies himself to be like Tom Cruise or something.

Noah and his hat. I laughed forever.

[preeya]

1 hour ago, galaxychaser said:

Gordon fancies himself to be like Tom Cruise or something.

Lately, I'm getting to dislike Gordan more and more. His pompous actions are becoming unbearable. He's a fifty-something father of a flock of kids that now acts like one of those kids. Mentoring is not constantly belittling, cursing, losing your temper, and throwing food like an infantile. It is the exact opposite.

[cameron]

10 hours ago, cameron said:

Totally agree.  Put him out of his misery!!

He's not mentally challenged, just incompetent.  I'm talking about Subha not Gordon.

Edited August 8, 2019 by cameron

[garnet207]

  FYI, those of us in the Chicago area are getting Panthers/Bears preseason football tonight instead of  Masterchef . I looked but didn't see a listing for it being rebroadcast in the Chicago area.  Wednesday's episode wasn't that interesting, but this NASCAR fan did enjoy seeing Bobby Labonte. 

[El maestro]

2 hours ago, DEL901 said:

Agree.  Some people aren't made for the team challenges.  

I bet Gordon's hoping that Micah chooses Subha to cook.  I'm sure that's why this "twist" was introduced.

I have seen different  times the pick the worst or your team or pick/save one of your partners. People are expected to save the cooks they consider they can beat or force your direct rivals to cook.

2 hours ago, hhawks said:

I don't think choosing Dorian to face elimination is a good idea.  Micah and Dorian do seem to care for each other and the blonde Barbie Bri

I don't see Micah trying to get Dorian out, as those two seem pretty tight.  Dorian should have no trouble eliminating the blonde Barbie Bri, who has been in the bottowm for a few weeks in a row now, so she and Subha are next in line for elimination.  Yes, I was getting angry and was prepared for a blue side win last night, given all of Ramsay's biased help.

Everybody knows that some of the best cooks are going to go down now. Any elimination challenge can be the last one, and yes I know the producers will manipulate the result, same they did in MC junior, when they had to cook in pairs and the worst pair was not eliminated.

Edited August 8, 2019 by El maestro

[adhoc]

Quote

 FYI, those of us in the Chicago area are getting Panthers/Bears preseason football tonight instead of  Masterchef . I looked but didn't see a listing for it being rebroadcast in the Chicago area.  Wednesday's episode wasn't that interesting, but this NASCAR fan did enjoy seeing Bobby Labonte. 

Here in St. Louis, same thing--they mentioned it's airing tonight, after the news, meaning it starts at 11:30 pm. 

I'm hoping this episode will be on www.fox.com at some point (maybe next week) for those of us who don't catch it tonight. (I don't have cable/satellite, hopefully it will be available free to OTA viewers.)

[preeya]

For those not pre-empted by the NFL, tonight's incredible, amazing episode is:

S10E17 Box in a Box in a Box

Summary:  The chef-testants return to the MASTERCHEF kitchen ready to face yet another Mystery Box Challenge. Unlike any challenge yet, the contestants are surprised with more mystery ingredients than ever before. After Gordon gives a master demonstration to the contestants, the cooks on the chopping block will have to concoct their own delectable dish using all three of the mystery, high-end ingredients. Watch as surprise after surprise ensues.

ETA: How dare the NFL to schedule games conflicting with SEASON TEN.  🥩

Edited August 8, 2019 by preeya

[DEL901]

Is that Aaron’s only shirt?

[Samwise979]

I honestly wonder why Subha applied for the show. He seems like a good enough cook but this competition is clearly not for him. I think he said during the first team challenge something like, I cook to relax, and I was like, have you seen this show?!?!

That being said, he's getting bullied a lot and it's not acceptable. 

[susannot]

Subha proved himself tonight to be a good cook.

[spaceytraci1208]

52 minutes ago, DEL901 said:

Is that Aaron’s only shirt?

That ugly-ass shirt and undercooked salmon were my only takeaways from last night's episode LOL

[mamadrama]

4 hours ago, preeya said:

Lately, I'm getting to dislike Gordan more and more. His pompous actions are becoming unbearable. He's a fifty-something father of a flock of kids that now acts like one of those kids. Mentoring is not constantly belittling, cursing, losing your temper, and throwing food like an infantile. It is the exact opposite.

I'm getting frustrated by all the fakery with Gordon-the-Great. Here's Gordon flying a fighter jet, here's Gordon driving a race car, here's Gordon...I'd be one of the first people kicked off the show because while everyone else was standing there clapping and oohing and ahhing over his daredevil stunts, I'd be rolling my eyes. 

Off topic: that's why I was NOT a featured extra in the movie SEABISCUIT. The movie filmed most of its scenes close to my town and they had a call for extras. Some had pivotal parts. My boyfriend and I went to the casting call and we sat in a ballroom with around 200 other people. The casting agent, think the interior decorator in BEETLEJUICE, stood before us and said, "Before we get to the audition, let me tell you a story that happened once..." He proceeded to tell us a story about the filming of STEEL MAGNOLIAS. Now, I love that movie. I know it's based on a true story. It makes me cry. But that yahoo was up there jumping around, waving his arms, voice breaking, etc as he talked about how the "real people were in the wedding reception scene. He's wiping fake tears away and being so overly dramatic that I literally say there rolling my eyes with my mouth gaped open in a "is this dude for real" kind of way. When I looked around, however, I realized that MOST of the people were crying along with him. When he stopped talking, I suddenly realized that THAT was the audition. They were looking for reactions. Needless to say, my career as a featured extra was never to be...(Though I am in one of the racing scenes.) 

[Koalagirl]

I’m absolutely heartbroken that Fred is gone. Obviously someone (coughJoecough) has a real hard-on bot Barbi Bri.  

[preeya]

Another underwhelming, unamazing, not stunning SEASON TEN episode.

The portions of Fred's filet that they tasted received OK comments.  Bri should have gone home for not using $500. ingredient and being on the brink of elimination three challenges in a row.

Edited August 9, 2019 by preeya

[El maestro]

Miicah has lost a great opportunity to send home one of his strongest rivals, or at least make that person nervous. I don’t think he is going to win. I am positive neither Dorian, Jamie or Sarah would miss the opportunity to eliminate him if they’d consider him a real threat.

About Shuba, Sarah said that he didn’t do well in teams but he can cook. I still believe producers  are trying to throw a red herring with supposed clumsiness.

I feel bad for Fred, finally he got used to be in camera and he was not blinking nervously as he did at the beginning of this season. He drove me crazy. Great baker.

Edited August 9, 2019 by El maestro

[El maestro]

2 hours ago, Samwise979 said:

I honestly wonder why Subha applied for the show. He seems like a good enough cook but this competition is clearly not for him. I think he said during the first team challenge something like, I cook to relax, and I was like, have you seen this show?!?!

That being said, he's getting bullied a lot and it's not acceptable. 

No matter how good are you in team challenges  and how well you cook with others, at the end, individual elimination challenges seal your fate.

I know it is very scripted but team challenges are always the same...A team cooks very fast and well . But the B team gets caught in  a nervous breakdown. Suddenly A team starts sending crap (burn, raw whatever) food and the judges start yelling at them. B team get their act together. Most of the times both teams are closer when customers vote, with a fed exceptions.

I give high praise for the blue team for not trying to start bickering and blaming to each other. 

This is a very nice season of MC, compared to former seasons where the Alfa contestants  were backstabbing each other.

Edited August 9, 2019 by El maestro

[Dance4Life]

My faves:

Shari, Dorian, Sarah

 Bri has run out of gas.

I love Subha!  He is a hoot to watch. 

When Dorian and Subha cooked together!!!!  🤣

Cilantro & Serrano (not jalapeño) sauce is heaven! I eat this every week!

[El maestro]

2 hours ago, DEL901 said:

Is that Aaron’s only shirt?

I feel bad for Aaron. The writers are giving him the worse lines in the show, like they did with Christina “did I tell you I am a baker” Tosi.