Worst Cooks In America - General Discussion

[Gramto6]

22 hours ago, LexieLily said:

Scott Conant is going to be doing this with Anne; is this supposed to be a hint that they've replaced Bobby with Scott for the next WCIA cycle?

I think they just have floating co-stars depending on availability...Bobby Flay, Robert Irvine, and now Scott Connant...could be anyone else at any given time.

Edited November 11, 2019 by Gramto6

[Gramto6]

Poor Scott, I think he wants to be anywhere but there. This is as much of a cartoon show as it has ever been. I feel for Scott, I don't think he had any idea what he was a getting into,

[biakbiak]

I was surprised to see Cliff back on tv, I guess it has been over a decade since he was kicked off Top Chef for assault.

Edited November 11, 2019 by biakbiak

[Mr. Sparkle]

44 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

I was surprised to so Cliff back on tv, I guess it has been over a decade since he was kicked off Top Chef for assault.

What am I missing? 

[biakbiak]

8 minutes ago, Superclam said:

What am I missing? 

One of the judges last night, Cliff Crooks, was kicked off Top Chef because he held down a fellow contestant because they were going to shave his head against his will.

[Mr. Sparkle]

17 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

One of the judges last night, Cliff Crooks, was kicked off Top Chef because he held down a fellow contestant because they were going to shave his head against his will.

Thanks, and what a weird story. I've never watched Top Chef so I didn't hear about this. 

Edited November 11, 2019 by Superclam

[spiderpig]

Scott sure has loosened up from his earlier days judging Chopped.  Remember when his grimly chastised a contestant for "disrespecting the fish" for picking it up with tongs?

He seemed to be enjoying himself on WCIA.

[cameron]

6 hours ago, spiderpig said:

Scott sure has loosened up from his earlier days judging Chopped.  Remember when his grimly chastised a contestant for "disrespecting the fish" for picking it up with tongs?

He seemed to be enjoying himself on WCIA.

Thought the same thing.  Nice to see a different side of him.

[RealityCheck]

New Season Of WORST COOKS IN AMERICA Premieres Sunday, January 5th at 9PM ET/PT

Quote

For the first time, Alton Brown is joining Anne Burrell in a brand-new season of Worst Cooks in America.  After being sorted into teams, Anne and Alton teach their recruits a chicken soup and sandwich dish.  Upcoming episodes feature a Chinese New Year celebration, tailgate-themed challenge and the return of fan-favorite game Remote Control Chef.  The season culminates on Sunday, March 8th at 9pm with the two most-improved recruits preparing a three-course restaurant quality meal for judges Kelly Choi, Brian Mazza, and Jet Tila.

[Mr. Sparkle]

😭

[Maverick]

 Alton?  Really?   Way to double down on the trainwreck. 

[LexieLily]

I want to see it just to see how long it takes Alton to threaten to quit in protest. 

[CoderLady]

Intelligent and knowledgeable as he is, Alton Brown doesn't seem to have the kind of temperament or personality to be a mentor on this show. The contestants seem to be chosen to be maximally difficult and inept, which I'm sure would bring out the mean streak he's developed over time and make the show (for me at least) uncomfortable to watch. Can you imagine what he would have done if he'd had Gina from last season on a team of his? Sharp words followed by sharp knives.

[mlp]

I used to admire Alton but, over the years, his ego grew and grew until he became unpleasant and sometimes downright nasty.  Then he affected a shaved head and stubble for awhile and he looked so awful that I couldn't even watch him without cringing.  I'm having a hard time imagining him doing Worst Cooks without putting a damper on the whole thing.  I guess we shall see.  Maybe there will actually be some good advice along with the usual hijinks.

[chessiegal]

I haven't watched this in awhile, but I'm interested to see how Alton does. He's smart and knowledgeable, and can be funny when the situation calls for it.

[Mondrianyone]

I still have vivid memories of Thanksgiving Live in 2013.  Hosted by Ina Garten, Bobby Flay, Giada de Laurentiis, and Alton Brown.  It was live (obviously), so no one can blame anything on bad editing.  Giada was predictably obnoxious, but the surprise (for me) was how horrible Alton was.  Ina and Bobby spent most of the show looking like they wanted SEAL Team 6 to burst in and rescue them.  At one point Giada cut herself, and the time she was off the air being tended to was the only tolerable segment.  Three hours, or however long it was, of listening to her and Alton scream and carry on were at least three hours too many.

Click on the link to see highlights of that awful show.

I may not be able to watch this if Alton tries a repeat performance.  He's become deeply unlikable.

[Gramto6]

I think FN is running out of chefs that want to submit to this train wreck of a show. They need to just let it go, it is a comedy/farce not a cooking show where anyone, audience or contestant really learns anything. It is sad because in earlier seasons we did learn things as did the contestants.

[rhys]

Every season I say the same thing: "how do they manage to find these people who don't know what a kitchen is for?" I'm always so surprised at the cringeworthiness of the competitors. They must be acting, right? 

 

[Chyromaniac]

On 12/29/2019 at 10:02 PM, rhys said:

Every season I say the same thing: "how do they manage to find these people who don't know what a kitchen is for?" I'm always so surprised at the cringeworthiness of the competitors. They must be acting, right? 

 

I have always maintained it’s both.  Yes- the show casts a ton of z-grade reality tv people and wannabe comedians because they can “perform” on set and in interviews.  But even if they are playing up their cluelessness for laughs, that doesn’t mean they aren’t also legitimately terrible cooks.  I mean, is it so hard to believe that people who spend all their time trying to get famous would never have bothered to learn basic kitchen skills?

[Mr. Sparkle]

The first episode of the season is streaming now OnDemand on Spectrum in NYC, and presumably elsewhere. I won't give out any "spoilers" before Sunday, but I will say that nothing has really changed. 

[meowmommy]

On 1/1/2020 at 6:46 AM, Chyromaniac said:

I mean, is it so hard to believe that people who spend all their time trying to get famous would never have bothered to learn basic kitchen skills?

Every now and then, though, one of them slips and uses a culinary term that even I only know from watching Top Chef.  Their real acting is to appear bad enough to qualify, but not so bad as to be eliminated each time.

[Chyromaniac]

15 hours ago, meowmommy said:

Every now and then, though, one of them slips and uses a culinary term that even I only know from watching Top Chef.  Their real acting is to appear bad enough to qualify, but not so bad as to be eliminated each time.

Well again, I’m not suggesting that these people don’t screw up words intentionally because it’s “funny.”  I’m sure that they understand more than they let on.  For instance, we see that they get instruction on the show, which is almost certainly reinforced with lessons behind the scenes.  However, it’s one thing to know a particular term- having to actually do that skill (especially under pressure) is another.  I mean, I know what brunoise is- do I think I can turn a vegetable into 3mm cubes, on camera with a ticking clock?  Probably not.

[patty1h]

Five minutes into the first episode of the new season and I hate 80% of these f'ing freaks.  That older white haired woman is acting for the camera for all she's worth.  I had to turn it to save my blood pressure. 

When this show first started years ago, people would line up with the grossest mixtures possible and say I don't know how to cook!  The thing that bothered me is that they EAT, so would THEY like to eat a dish made with ham, bananas, hot sauce and peanut butter?  This is an exaggeration, but basically what these fools would throw together and show up to the screening.  They wouldn't want to eat it, so why mix such gross combos and serve it to the judges  That's when I realized this show is producer fakery.   

Morbid curiosity made me wonder if they're still doing that obnoxious move where they have one contestant who's so in love with either host.  I watched back in the day when they'd have a female swooning over Bobby Flay, and they milked that crap till it was sickening.  I seem to recall that they gave Anne an "admirer" too at some point, I guess so she wouldn't feel slighted.   Did they do this for Alton or Anne this season?  I don't have the stomach to sit through an hour to find out, but are they still dragging out that silly producer contrivance?  Next season, just hire a bunch of clowns.

Edited January 6, 2020 by patty1h

[Maya]

No one’s in love with Alton or Anne, but there is of course the woman who wants to learn to cook so she can catch a man 🙄

Alton really sucks the life out of this show doesn’t he?

[LexieLily]

The older man named Leo on Alton's team, he sounds almost exactly like someone I am pretty sure guest-starred on Friends once upon a time, but I cannot for the life of me think of who it is.

[El maestro]

I like Alton Brown, he is the only one who can control the contestants as he did in the next food network star.

[Gramto6]

OMG this is just awful!

I think Alton is having regrets about doing this (or it is producer driven), he posted on Twitter:

"I will not be live tweeting tonight during the premier of #worstcooks I will be huddled in a dark closet #softlyweeping"

[Fostersmom]

2 hours ago, LexieLily said:

The older man named Leo on Alton's team, he sounds almost exactly like someone I am pretty sure guest-starred on Friends once upon a time, but I cannot for the life of me think of who it is.

I think you are thinking of mr.heckles? He was a random neighbor who died and chandler thought he was going to end up like him.

seriously, there’s not enough famewhoring in the world to put up with some of these idiots. It’s not a matter of not knowing how to cook, it’s not knowing how to act like a semi functional human being. 

[Rammchick]

I stopped watching this after the last celebrity season, but I wanted to see how Alton would fare on this show.  As expected, he's true to form and hilarious.  Standing there in a suit, he's so stiff, and during the recipe, he spoke so fast, I doubted anyone would cook anything.  Chicken skin waffle sandwich?  Um, ok.  So now the question is, will I continue watching this contrived, awful mess?  I do love me some Alton, and I love his exasperation.  Comedy gold.  We'll see.

[CoyoteBlue]

This year was just a flat-out clown car of Freaks From Central Casting. That old lady "artist" is going to get on my last nerve, I can just tell. Beating the knives with a meat tenderizer. I do not know how Alton refrained from just snatching that out of her hand; he looked actively in pain at that, especially whern she called it a "multi-tasker". I can't remember if she was the one who tried to scoop something up with a potato masher, like, how the fuck do you not know to use a spoon?

And the trainer lady who is just ME ME ME! LOOK, I AM DOING JUMPING JACKS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CHALLENGE. Dear god. The "need to catch a spouse" people seem sane and well-adjusted any more. I appreciate the younguns who professsed a need to be able to take care of themselves once they left the nest.

I'm really glad about who got booted (can't recall his name, can't be bothered to look it up). He wasx on the verge of collapse the entire time, jesus. He starts right off with "I'm the hot one, I don't need to cook." and ends with trying to wink at the camera and blinking instead.

[Guest]

8 hours ago, Fostersmom said:

11 hours ago, LexieLily said:

The older man named Leo on Alton's team, he sounds almost exactly like someone I am pretty sure guest-starred on Friends once upon a time, but I cannot for the life of me think of who it is.

I think you are thinking of mr.heckles? He was a random neighbor who died and chandler thought he was going to end up like him.

seriously, there’s not enough famewhoring in the world to put up with some of these idiots. It’s not a matter of not knowing how to cook, it’s not knowing how to act like a semi functional human being. 

Actually he reminds me of the guy who worked in the kitchen at the restaurant where Monica was head chef. It was the episode where the staff all hated her and she brought in Joey as a fake waiter so she could "fire" him and get some respect from the staff. Leo appears to be shorter than that actor, but his face and voice are eerily similar.

[Ms Lark]

I actually like Alton on this so far. He has a very snarky sense of humor that I appreciate. I wonder what he did wrong to wind up in this particular circle of hell? (Call your agent, indeed.) There may be a meltdown in the future -- his!

I still think they do not do any sort of mental stability screening when casting. I'm not throwing shade, I really think some of these folks need professional help. I'm looking at you Lulu (crazy older artsy woman). Unless they are faking big time, which is also a possibility. I don't think I could work with most of them. I'd like to see a season with sane contestants that actually want to learn to cook properly. What  a concept.

[Mondrianyone]

2 hours ago, Rammchick said:

I stopped watching this after the last celebrity season, but I wanted to see how Alton would fare on this show.  As expected, he's true to form and hilarious.  Standing there in a suit, he's so stiff, and during the recipe, he spoke so fast, I doubted anyone would cook anything.  Chicken skin waffle sandwich?  Um, ok.  So now the question is, will I continue watching this contrived, awful mess?  I do love me some Alton, and I love his exasperation.  Comedy gold.  We'll see.

 

10 hours ago, Gramto6 said:

OMG this is just awful!

I think Alton is having regrets about doing this (or it is producer driven), he posted on Twitter:

"I will not be live tweeting tonight during the premier of #worstcooks I will be huddled in a dark closet #softlyweeping"

If Alton's shtick through the whole season is going to be shock, pain, and regret, I predict that'll get old pretty fast.  I hope he starts bringing something else to the table very soon.

Also, chicken-skin sandwich sounds as disgusting as something one of these recruits would come up with.  I was totally shocked when Alton was tasting them without checking first to see if the skin looked fully cooked.  Then again, maybe he was trying to find a way out, and salmonella poisoning is as good as any.

[Guest]

4 hours ago, Mondrianyone said:

If Alton's shtick through the whole season is going to be shock, pain, and regret, I predict that'll get old pretty fast.  I hope he starts bringing something else to the table very soon.

I agree. Bobby also showed a fair bit of disbelief and had his "get me out of here" moments but he also brought a lot of good-natured humor and he seemed to enjoy a lot of the contestants in spite of himself.

Edited to add: Bobby's disbelief and angst also seemed more natural, and less rehearsed than Alton's.

Edited January 6, 2020 by tracyscott76

[Koalagirl]

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. 

[Matryoshka]

I feel like the weird meter got cranked up a few notches this season.

 

I used to really like Alton Brown on Good Eats and that show where he rode a motorcycle across the country but he's become so mean over the past few years I don't enjoy watching him anymore.

[Guest]

4 hours ago, tracyscott76 said:

Actually he reminds me of the guy who worked in the kitchen at the restaurant where Monica was head chef. It was the episode where the staff all hated her and she brought in Joey as a fake waiter so she could "fire" him and get some respect from the staff. Leo appears to be shorter than that actor, but his face and voice are eerily similar.

This guy: Fred Stoller

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0831550/?ref_=tt_cl_t7

Edited January 6, 2020 by tracyscott76
Adding pic

[rhys]

I thought for a moment that chicken noodle soup would be on the menu for these fools. SMH that would have made far too much sense. Come on, FNW. 

[LexieLily]

1 hour ago, tracyscott76 said:

This guy: Fred Stoller

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0831550/?ref_=tt_cl_t7

Thank you!! LOL!

[Westiepeach]

1 hour ago, tracyscott76 said:

This guy: Fred Stoller

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0831550/?ref_=tt_cl_t7

Didn’t he also play Ray Barone’s goofy cousin on Everybody Loves Raymond?

[Guest]

8 minutes ago, Westiepeach said:

Didn’t he also play Ray Barone’s goofy cousin on Everybody Loves Raymond?

There were lots of pictures of him on that show on IMDB, so probably.

Back to the show at hand: while there are certainly the usual antics and buffoonery, I thought some of the reasons for these people wanting to cook were quite sweet and normal, e.g. "my wife is going back to school so I have to step up", "I'd like to be able to cook for my in-laws", "I want my kids to eat better", and so on. I hope they'll get something out of this weird little experience.

Edited January 6, 2020 by tracyscott76
Back on topic

[El maestro]

On 11/26/2019 at 1:53 PM, mlp said:

I used to admire Alton but, over the years, his ego grew and grew until he became unpleasant and sometimes downright nasty.  Then he affected a shaved head and stubble for awhile and he looked so awful that I couldn't even watch him without cringing.  I'm having a hard time imagining him doing Worst Cooks without putting a damper on the whole thing.  I guess we shall see.  Maybe there will actually be some good advice along with the usual hijinks.

I disagree. When he had to be a mentor in Next Food Network Star he made very clear to the contestants that it was going to be a lot of work. 
I know that in the Millennial era everybody is supposed to get a price and hosts have to be soft in the contestants, but we can’t forget some responsibility. Last season of Masterchef was like watching a church bingo competition, no drama.

Edited January 7, 2020 by El maestro

[jcbrown]

I watched the first half of this last night and the second half this morning and after thinking about it, I believe Alton adds to the show for me. He brings a bit of gravitas to a show where most of the participants seem like they could not spell "gravitas." I like that he was not dumbing things down for them and that he expects them to actually learn something, instead of just chipmunking about the blue equivalent of his "rocking red stars" like Anne does. 

[Chyromaniac]

11 hours ago, Mondrianyone said:

If Alton's shtick through the whole season is going to be shock, pain, and regret, I predict that'll get old pretty fast.  I hope he starts bringing something else to the table very soon.

Unfortunately with how he’s basically daring people on Twitter to not watch, I don’t have high hopes.  Which, this show has been on for a decade now, Alton- methinks you protest too much...

 

[mlp]

2 hours ago, El maestro said:

I disagree. When he had to be a mentor in Next Food Network Star he made very clear to the contestants that it was going to be a lot of work. 
I know that in the Millennial era everybody is supposed to get a price and hosts have to be soft in the contestants, but we can’t forget some responsibility. Last season of Masterchef was like watching a church bingo competition, no drama.

Actually, I think we agree more than not.  I thought FNS went downhill after Alton left because he did have expectations and didn't coddle contestants or act like they were in a comedy skit.  I noticed his ego inflating during the Cutthroat Kitchen era.  At first, I thought it was just the persona he'd adopted for that show but it seemed to be permanent.  Every time I saw him after that, he came across as acerbic and rather unpleasant.  

 

2 hours ago, jcbrown said:

I watched the first half of this last night and the second half this morning and after thinking about it, I believe Alton adds to the show for me. He brings a bit of gravitas to a show where most of the participants seem like they could not spell "gravitas." I like that he was not dumbing things down for them and that he expects them to actually learn something, instead of just chipmunking about the blue equivalent of his "rocking red stars" like Anne does. 

Agreed.  I thought he was fine considering what he had to work with.  

[meowmommy]

Given that Alton's entire mission on Good Eats was to be snarkily educational, one would think this would be a somewhat natural fit for him.  But as others have said, he's gotten mean in his old age and hasn't given evidence of having a lot of patience. 

When he said at the beginning that he's always wanted to do WCIA, I was looking for the gun pointed at his head.  Given the ongoing rotation of opponents to Anne (Beau, Tyler, Robert, Bobby, Rachael), it seems like he could have volunteered any time he wanted.

[Yeah No]

On 1/6/2020 at 11:18 AM, Ms Lark said:

I actually like Alton on this so far. He has a very snarky sense of humor that I appreciate. I wonder what he did wrong to wind up in this particular circle of hell? (Call your agent, indeed.) There may be a meltdown in the future -- his!

I agree.  Alton had me at "ham cocks", LOL.  His comments and asides in this have been priceless and that's just in the first episode!  I just hope he can keep it up and not melt down after too much insanity.  I did notice how he brought his tendency to over complicate recipes with him, though.  Right now he's the only thing keeping me interested in this mess.  I've been barely hanging on the past couple of seasons.  I'm wondering how much Anne/FN had to bribe him to do the show!

[Yeah No]

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. 

Mr. Yeah No said it had to be money, which could be true but there are also some young guys that are into older women out there!  She resembles a good friend of mine who is about the same age as she is and she also has a well-kept husband that's 10 years younger than her (and looks even younger).

My beef is that I think most if not all of the older women cast on this show lob a good 5-10 years off their age.  If she's 67, I'm 50!

[RoxiP]

The contestants on this show drive me crazy with their over-acting, but I do like it a few episodes in when they start whittling out the worst ones and get to the ones who actually are learning to cook despite themselves.

[seacliffsal]

On 1/8/2020 at 2:15 AM, eliot90000 said:

When I was in graduate school getting my doctorate, I worked part time as a tutor in the learning center with the Education grad students.  Most of the people working on PhDs in Education were a lot like Lulu, so, since she’s working on a PhD in Education, she’s a recognizable type to me.  

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...).