Worst Cooks In America - General Discussion

[biakbiak]

Hey Alton people age and Cindy Lauper and Lulu are the same age, 66, so she can’t be her mother!

[Yeah No]

On 1/9/2020 at 7:15 PM, seacliffsal said:

Oh no!  I so resented her during this episode as I felt she totally devalued my doctorate (educational leadership) and that viewers would believe we were all like this!  I can't classify anyone I met during my program as similar to her.  I definitely hope she is over acting as it saddens me that these behaviors are what viewers will identify with those of use who hold terminal degrees in education.  It was hard work and necessitated focus and endless hours of research and analysis (so, maybe the truth is that I wish I had found her doctoral program as it was probably a breeze compared to mine...).

Thank you, she doesn't remind me of anyone in my graduate program in Education either, but I have learned since my school days that standards vary widely at different schools.  Mine was a top notch, well known university in NYC.  Anyone even remotely like Lulu didn't last long in that program.  But I have known of schools that would probably keep her.

On 1/10/2020 at 12:20 AM, biakbiak said:

Hey Alton people age and Cindy Lauper and Lulu are the same age, 66, so she can’t be her mother!

Haha, I thought the same exact thing, but I suspect he was thinking of Cindy when she was in her pop star heyday 30+ years ago, not on those recent psoriasis pill commercials.

I still have a hard time seeing Lulu as 66 years old.  She looks a lot like a friend of mine that also happens to be 66, except older.  I really think some of the older women on this show shave a few years off of their real age.  I've felt that way about other contestants on this show in previous seasons too.

[Kroliosis]

On 1/6/2020 at 12:36 PM, Koalagirl said:

I can only watch this as long as I tell myself this is meant to be a satire, not a real cooking show.  If Lulu has a family they really need to make sure she is protected from that younger husband ( if that is even true) because surely he must be after something. 

They looked so similar I thought that was her son.  They really look related 😂

[Kroliosis]

17 minutes ago, Kroliosis said:

They looked so similar I thought that was her son.  They really look related

 

not sure why it’s showing up sideways but you get my point😁

Edited January 11, 2020 by Kroliosis

[Mondrianyone]

I should probably be embarrassed to admit that I was actually entertained a couple of times during this latest episode.  The hairdresser and the southern belle made me laugh, and I'm enjoying the relationship between Mike and Jolynn.  It could be that several seasons of watching have killed off some of my brain cells, but I'm not as annoyed by this crew as I've been in the past.  I'm even inclined to tolerate Alton.  All subject to change at a moment's notice, though.  👩‍🍳

[Koalagirl]

7 hours ago, Mondrianyone said:

I should probably be embarrassed to admit that I was actually entertained a couple of times during this latest episode.  The hairdresser and the southern belle made me laugh, and I'm enjoying the relationship between Mike and Jolynn.  It could be that several seasons of watching have killed off some of my brain cells, but I'm not as annoyed by this crew as I've been in the past.  I'm even inclined to tolerate Alton.  All subject to change at a moment's notice, though.  👩‍🍳

Don’t be embarrassed. I found myself laughing out loud several times during this episode.  

[Mr. Sparkle]

This is a silly show for entertainment purposes only. I watch for pure enjoyment, not to learn how to cook, or to even see people cooking well. I liked Alton more this week than last. 

[meowmommy]

On 1/12/2020 at 9:22 PM, Mondrianyone said:

I should probably be embarrassed to admit that I was actually entertained a couple of times during this latest episode.

It seems a bit less slapsticky than usual.  Maybe Alton told the producers he could only tolerate a certain amount of kitsch.  

I honestly wished they'd spent more time covering the instructions on how to make those salads.  I am a horribly picky eater, almost never like anything I see made on TV, and those looked good.

[Brookside]

Grown women need to stop wearing stupid things in their hair.  Looking at you Cat's Ears (you're not four) and Lulu (what you put on your head is unforgivable at any age).

And since when was Chef's Salad named after Anne Burrell?  Never, that's when.

[Guest]

I thought Alton showed a little more natural humor this time, for example describing his fancy French dish as "basically a ham and cheese sandwich with an egg on top" and commenting on Monica's bacon fat mishap in the oven with "we call this a fire", both delivered while chuckling. Unfortunately his bit while announcing who was safe went on a bit too long and kind of undercut that.

[Mellowyellow]

First time I'm watching this show because I'm a huge Alton fan.

He looks like he's having fun in an Alton kind of way. Hehe they must have promised to double his Good Eats budget or something! 

[Maya]

I find Alton kind of unpleasant to watch. I realize it’s his thing to be harsh and humorless, but it just comes off as rude to me.
He does love Leo though LOL. 

[RoxiP]

I think I deleted this week's episode and I must have done it before I saw who was kicked off...anybody recollect?

[meowmommy]

15 minutes ago, RoxiP said:

I think I deleted this week's episode and I must have done it before I saw who was kicked off...anybody recollect?

Nobody.  They said everyone was so colossally bad that it was impossible to pick the worst cook in America.

I assume that a double elimination is coming later.

Interesting how Alton voiced suspicions that Kelly might be a ringer.  Hard to believe FN allowed those suspicions to air.

[RoxiP]

Just now, meowmommy said:

Nobody.  They said everyone was so colossally bad that it was impossible to pick the worst cook in America.

I assume that a double elimination is coming later.

Interesting how Alton voiced suspicions that Kelly might be a ringer.  Hard to believe FN allowed those suspicions to air.

LOL...thank you.  I do remember that but I had forgotten that I watched it...DUH!  So many reality shows, so little sleep!

[mlp]

I was hoping that Alton would do some actual teaching.  Instead, he's just being his own variety of funny but nasty.  It gets old.

I don't hate anyone this season although the two women with hair decorations look ridiculous.  So far, I like Leo best.

[spiderpig]

30 minutes ago, mlp said:

 

I don't hate anyone this season although the two women with hair decorations look ridiculous.  So far, I like Leo best.

I do too.  Isn't he a chemist?  You'd think he'd be able to pick up cooking basics pretty easily since many of the techniques depend on kitchen science.  (Although on this show they may be using the professional title "chemist" in some other way.)

[jcbrown]

I was so hoping we would get rid of both Kelly and Lulu (is that her name? The "kooky" one?). The no-elimination episodes are always such a waste of time.

Edited January 23, 2020 by jcbrown
to write what I actually meant

[Hellga]

I just binged the previous season over two days - but I was fast forwarding through all the antics after the first episode, when I decided they were all total clowns in for their two minutes of TV fame, other than maybe one or two people.  I would watch the demos and the judging, with occasional games and cooking segments... that was a pretty good way to watch it, actually.  Efficient and not annoying.  

I am going to start catching up with the current season... hopefully they got a better bunch... still doubt I will be watching it live, fast forward is my friend on this show!

[meowmommy]

3 hours ago, mlp said:

I was hoping that Alton would do some actual teaching.  Instead, he's just being his own variety of funny but nasty.  It gets old.

I think both Alton and Anne do a significant amount of actual teaching.  But the producers junk the footage in favor of wacky hijinks that I, for one, don't ever want to see.

My DD loves rice and I've been trying to get her to try some variations, so I really wanted us to see Alton and Anne's cooking demonstrations.  Instead, they blitzed by them faster than Guy Fieri on his way to the next diner.

I'm also appalled at the amount of food wastage.  I know no one really wants to eat what these contestants cook, but do they have to make massive plates of food that will end up in the trash after Alton and Anne take their one bite and spit it out?  

[chessiegal]

25 minutes ago, meowmommy said:

I'm also appalled at the amount of food wastage. 

If it's any comfort, FN donates food bought for shows that isn't used.

I'm a chemist and a good home cook. For me, cooking is like working in a lab. Most of the chemists I know, both male and female, are decent cooks. However, I had one male colleague whose only ability to cook meant using a microwave to prepare frozen meals.

[Brookside]

On 1/21/2020 at 3:52 PM, meowmommy said:

I'm also appalled at the amount of food wastage.  I know no one really wants to eat what these contestants cook, but do they have to make massive plates of food that will end up in the trash after Alton and Anne take their one bite and spit it out?  

The amount of food waste is probably equal to how much crap is thrown out hourly from your local McDonalds.

[RoxiP]

I want to snatch that cat ears headband off that woman's head - and whatever it is Lulu wears on hers.  Why don't grown women want to dress like grown women?

[Mr. Sparkle]

1 hour ago, RoxiP said:

I want to snatch that cat ears headband off that woman's head - and whatever it is Lulu wears on hers.  Why don't grown women want to dress like grown women?

I get the feeling cat ears wants to get noticed and thinks that will be her brand or her trademark. I think Lulu dresses like that all the time. 

[RoxiP]

16 hours ago, Superclam said:

I get the feeling cat ears wants to get noticed and thinks that will be her brand or her trademark. I think Lulu dresses like that all the time. 

I agree (although I think Lulu also is desperate to be noticed) - but still stand by my "they should be ashamed" remark...LOL!

[Mr. Sparkle]

2 hours ago, RoxiP said:

I agree (although I think Lulu also is desperate to be noticed) - but still stand by my "they should be ashamed" remark...LOL!

I don't have a strong argument against you! 😁

Housekeeping: I noticed, like last year, they're showing 3 episodes on Superbowl Sunday. The first two, at 8 and 9, appear to "reheated" episodes, or repeats as we call them. The new episode is on at 10. 

[RoxiP]

Since I'm not a Super Bowl watcher it just irritates me to no end that some of my shows are not going to be on this Sunday.  What are NORMAL people supposed to watch when 90 Day Fiancee is not coming on...LOL!  Thank goodness for Worst Cooks.  (I can't believe a day later that I typed that sentence!!!)

Edited January 29, 2020 by RoxiP

[buttercupia]

Alton is just mean, and that meanness is not fun to watch. 

[Guest]

C'mon, Monica, get it together! You're the only reason I'm watching this thing.

[seacliffsal]

We were so close to having Lulu go home.  Oh well.  I don't think Alton's humor works in this scenario.  When Alton is just silent while tasting their food, they are not receiving feedback or indicators of what they are/aren't doing.  I really enjoyed the previous season with Bobby Flay as he seemed to have fun, be overwhelmed, and yet still teach and support his team. 

[Maya]

15 hours ago, seacliffsal said:

We were so close to having Lulu go home.  Oh well.  I don't think Alton's humor works in this scenario.  When Alton is just silent while tasting their food, they are not receiving feedback or indicators of what they are/aren't doing.  

Right. And then he wonders why they’re not improving. 

[Gramto6]

I laughed out loud so hard when Alton said the banana slices on the pizza looked like cat butts! OMG! That was worth watching this whole train wreck!

[Guest]

Rats. Well, now that Monica is gone, I can relax and not worry about who's leaving. Pretty sure Leo is going to be the Blue Team's rep in the finale.

[jcbrown]

Yippee--stupid "kooky" Lulu is gone!

[Yeah No]

10 hours ago, jcbrown said:

Yippee--stupid "kooky" Lulu is gone!

OMG, Mr Yeah No and I cheered when she was eliminated.  Anne seemed to love her but we found her OTT annoying.

[Yeah No]

On 2/3/2020 at 6:47 PM, seacliffsal said:

We were so close to having Lulu go home.  Oh well.  I don't think Alton's humor works in this scenario.  When Alton is just silent while tasting their food, they are not receiving feedback or indicators of what they are/aren't doing.  I really enjoyed the previous season with Bobby Flay as he seemed to have fun, be overwhelmed, and yet still teach and support his team. 

I like Alton's humor but I will agree with you that for some reason his way is not doing his team any favors.  He seems to be a good teacher on his own TV show, but not on this one.  I don't get it.  It's like "Will the real Alton please stand up."  I don't like the so-called "new" Alton in general.  Like a lot of people, I much prefer how he was on his original series 20 years ago.  I always feel like he's putting on an act to be grouchy and snarky and deep down is still the same person he was 2 decades ago.  Has he really changed that much?

[chessiegal]

I think the Alton we saw 20 years ago was an act, and now we are seeing the real Alton.

[Yeah No]

5 hours ago, chessiegal said:

I think the Alton we saw 20 years ago was an act, and now we are seeing the real Alton.

I never got the feeling it was an act 20 years ago or even now when I watch his original "Good Eats".  He was the same positive, upbeat person all through "Iron Chef America".  I thought he changed around the time of his divorce, which was reported to be drawn out and at times bitter. I have read that his Baptist church tried to keep the couple together and that Alton ended up leaving the church (not God) as a result.  Then around that time he started doing "Cutthroat Kitchen" and his personality seemed to have done a complete 180.  So I do think there's some evidence that his experiences changed him.

[RoxiP]

On ‎2‎/‎10‎/‎2020 at 5:56 AM, tracyscott76 said:

Rats. Well, now that Monica is gone, I can relax and not worry about who's leaving. Pretty sure Leo is going to be the Blue Team's rep in the finale.

Yes, right now it looks like Leo and Cat Ears are the frontrunners.

[Rahul]

Time and experience changes people and in Alton's case, life events probably led to the curmudgeon we see today.

Why is Ann so mean to Leslie week after week? At least this week she yelled at her a bit less than usual and had some nice things to say about her main dish challenge dish. The way Chef Ann barks at Leslie really bugs me because it appears to me Leslie is actually trying.

[mlp]

I didn't really dislike Lulu but I did think she was ridiculous so I was happy to see her leave.  

I'd like to know how pork that registered something like 85 degrees got done in the microwave in 20 seconds.

Rooting for Leo.

[Omeletsmom]

On 2/11/2020 at 2:06 PM, Yeah No said:

I never got the feeling it was an act 20 years ago or even now when I watch his original "Good Eats".  He was the same positive, upbeat person all through "Iron Chef America".  I thought he changed around the time of his divorce, which was reported to be drawn out and at times bitter. I have read that his Baptist church tried to keep the couple together and that Alton ended up leaving the church (not God) as a result.  Then around that time he started doing "Cutthroat Kitchen" and his personality seemed to have done a complete 180.  So I do think there's some evidence that his experiences changed him.

Back in the TWoP days there was someone on one of the FN boards who worked at the CIA when they were filming Iron Chef there and they reported he was not a man to be crossed, especially before he had his coffee in the morning.  This was at least 15 years ago, so I suspect that he has always been this way,

[Yeah No]

14 hours ago, Omeletsmom said:

Back in the TWoP days there was someone on one of the FN boards who worked at the CIA when they were filming Iron Chef there and they reported he was not a man to be crossed, especially before he had his coffee in the morning.  This was at least 15 years ago, so I suspect that he has always been this way,

From this article in "Mashed":

Quote

Loveable, Alton Brown is not. In fact, The New York Times called him the opposite of cuddly, and he fully admits there's a streak of evil in his personality. But, he says, that's what makes his shows so awesome.

He says the person everyone met on Good Eats is pretty much him in real life. When he talked to the Bitter Southerner, he likened his personality to old, 1970s-era stereos with dials you could use to raise and lower how much of a certain aspect you get. "We've all got a little bit of the charming, mean rogue," he said, adding that when he was growing up, he had no interest in being James Bond. "I wanted to be the Bond villain. He has better clothes, typically, and a cool back story."

So, when he stepped into the spotlight, he cranked up the evilness. Not everyone in his family was thrilled about it — an aunt even asked him why he had to be such an a**hole. So Brown invented a better word, and started calling it "evilicious." That's a bit mean, but with a playful humor that took all the sting out of the bite.

Read More: https://www.mashed.com/115126/untold-truth-alton-brown/?utm_campaign=clip

Well, that sort-of explains it.

[chessiegal]

Here's an interesting tidbit that Alton didn't want to do this show, and only did it to get FN to do more episodes of Good Eats.

Alton didn't want to do Worst Cooks

 

[Ms Lark]

9 hours ago, chessiegal said:

Here's an interesting tidbit that Alton didn't want to do this show, and only did it to get FN to do more episodes of Good Eats.

Alton didn't want to do Worst Cooks

I knew there was a catch. I thought maybe it was a punishment for misbehavior or insulting someone's mistress. Well, I do love Good Eats, but Worst Cooks is getting on my last nerve. I feel for Alton; it's not in his wheelhouse.

[Mr. Sparkle]

I'm not a big Alton fan, but I just checked out his twitter, and he's really enjoying all the hate. I'll give him props for sheer snark. 

[Chyromaniac]

22 hours ago, Superclam said:

I'm not a big Alton fan, but I just checked out his twitter, and he's really enjoying all the hate. I'll give him props for sheer snark. 

Yeah, I wouldn’t take anything he says about the show on Twitter seriously.  Personally I think he knows that his social media base is full of people who think this show is beneath him/them, and is playing that up.  He probably also figures he can pick up more social buzz for himself by egging on the crowd that think he’s too mean.  But hey, that’s just my opinion- and I’m just a guy with a twop previously primetimer account, not sone reputable journalist like “Food Network Gossip.”

[Mr. Sparkle]

Blech. I hate "no one goes home" week. That's twice this season. 

It would have been cool if Mike & Leo went home and one of the ladies came over to Alton's team. 

 

Edited February 17, 2020 by Superclam

[rhys]

Alton gave his group too difficult of a tart. Ridiculous.

[RoxiP]

I thought it was hilarious last night when he went off on Bobby Flay for telling him to do Worst Cooks.