Reviews

I've read it actually is hell for the contestants, but that's their problem. To me, it's quite entertaining.

And to some extent it's educational in regards to how a professional kitchen might, or should, operate. I've never been in one myself, but the mysteries of how dishes come together, perfectly cooked and on time for the whole table -- or aren't! -- are perhaps revealed here. At least it gives me something to think about that I never thought about before and, when such a kitchen works, gives me an appreciation of the operation. [And, I'll admit, even in regards to IHOP or places like that. I just never thought about it.]

It's all about Ramsay's fury, his dominating personality, his unrelenting insistence on consistent quality, his intolerance of laziness or uncaring dish preparation. All admirable qualities, for sure.

I have reason to believe he can be like that in real life, but I also have reason to believe he hams it up for the show. After all, he's not, in this context, trying to achieve Michelin stars for a fake/staged restaurant. He's trying to get Emmy awards. He's play-acting.

But he can be brutal! And some of that is real according to some past contestants. I think it's analogous to his real life running of a kitchen when his reputation was really on the line. I doubt he's like that now or even in that kind of situation anymore.

What I like is his now-unfashionable insistence on not giving out gold stars for simply showing up, or for caring, or for wanting trying hard. If you under-cook 6 lamb shanks in a row, there, GET OUT YOU DONKEY! It's great fun.

I'm a fan of this along with the other Ramsay reality shows, LIke Kitchen Nightmares, Hell's Kitchen, and Masterchef (aduts).

The kids are precocious, to be sure. And one wonders how they can cook so well. But wonders about that in reference to the adult "home cooks" in their version.

I recall reading about the adult version that there are many cooking lessons and coaching going on behind the scenes, so to speak. This might explain why so many contestants (kids and adults) say things like, "I've learned so much while being here," or "Mary/Joe is one of my friends." I wouldn't learn a think just cooking something and having it judged, but I would if, along the way, I were being tutored in some way. I wouldn't have a friend there if I only encountered them while on the set and in competition.

There is a lot going on we never see. Duh.,

Anyway, one does wonder how they all -- kids and adults -- know basically how to make all this stuff. Like a macaroon. They all basically know how to proceed while admitting, "I've never made a macaroon before!" Oh? Then how did you produce one (good or bad)? None seem to do what I'd do . . . stand there and have no idea what the mixtures should be. They did not arrive there knowing how to basically make all this stuff.

Today watching Season 5, I started wondering if there were recipes taped to the counter or something, you know, how much flour to mix with how much powdered sugar, or whatever. What a Gnocchi is/are and how to make one.

OK. So none of that detracts from the show or its appeal to me. It's a produced show, I know, edited (heavily if not nearly dishonestly) and all that. I believe it's reasonable to assume the kids have some skills and, with proper tutoring, "get better" along the way (as they claim) and rise or fall on what we see broadcast: the details of the execution. I think of it as rehearsal. What we see is based on on the cooking itself, not on the vast knowledge they've supposedly (but couldn't possibly have) brought to the event from home.

I don't know if they get acting lessons or not, but they do all seem to have camera appeal, don't look in the cameras (not in the shots we see), and probably go through "make up" or something before entering the set. None are simply mumbling or drooling, but again, all we see is what the Directors and Editors want us to see.

It's like this. When the kid present the dish to the judge, there is often a slow pan over the dish obviously not filmed in real time. And the things the judges say just before a commercial break are only part of what they've supposedly said after the break, or after the break they aren't saying everything they said before the break. Etc. Basic editing. Sometimes, it's so obviously edited, I get annoyed.

Before the Break: "Holly, did you know the lamb was raw? Why did you cook it like that?"

After the Break, recapping what had happened before the break: "Holly, why did you cook it that way?"

It's the kind of editing CNN does to slant the news!

So, I take it as a SHOW, a production, a "product." The kids are usually enchanting, funny, quirky, emotional, enthusiastic -- the kinds of personalities that sell. I find myself rooting for this and liking that kid. As I do watching a movie, as intended. I just give myself to it, pretend it's real, and have a good time.

BTW, same with Kitchen Nightmares or Hell's Kitchen. I have no idea what "really" happens. Most of it is implausible in "real time."

I don't confuse "reality show" with "unedited footage of what took place" just as I don't confuse CNN "news" with "unedited reporting of what took place."

It's all theater.

I saw this on TV in 1981 or whenever it was on. It haunts me still. It's tense and claustrophobic up close where this action is depicted (to wit, it appears mostly filmed inside the studio while taking place mostly outdoors), but the overarching danger is apocalyptic. The soundtrack is lean and terrifying. The B-actors (except for the chick who doesn't appear much) actually pull it off quite well once the action is in the field. It's the only role I've seen Rock Hudson play it straight, strained, dramatic, and quite human, and I am impressed.

I attribute the success to (out of necessity, given it's failings) a good script, direction, and theme. And editing I suppose to the degree I'm aware of it. I highly recommend it if, for instance, you like Carpenter's "The Thing" as it has the same mood about it that never leaves me. If you're a kid into mostly special effects, large-scale action, and other cartoons, or if you have no conception of what the Cold War was like and could have been like, you probably won't think much of it, and I understand that. But I liked it a lot.