# Food Network Star 2012 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 22, 2012, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-network-star-2012/622718 "2012-05-22T14:45:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-network-star-2012/622718/61 "2012-06-14T13:13:51Z")
Anyway, the clip I posted above was from a 2005 episode of the A&E series [Airline](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airline_(U.S._TV_series)). Martie Duncan just happened to be featured in one ep. She was having problems leaving Baltimore, I think. Coincidentally, this rerun showed up this past week or so, which is how I snagged this clip. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2012, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-network-star-2012/622718/62 "2012-06-18T05:20:30Z")
6/17 Lots of manufactured drama this week, it seems. Team Alton was presented as being off in the weeds at the first turn, but were the team that nailed not only the food but the presentation. Retro Girl got zero screen time, apparently because she is smoking all the other contestants (except Justin, who is spooky good.) The elimed chef is the one I called at the start of the episode. Totally out of her element with that dessert. Martita seemed to lose it this week as well. What happened to the stories, chica? You are representing my town, bitch. Step it up! šŸ˜ƒ (Her father founded a [small chain](http://www.josesmexicanfood.com/home/) of Mexican restaurants in the area that were OK, but not great. Until recently, when they took a serious step up in goodness. Maybe Martita got hired as a consultant?) ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-network-star-2012/622718/63 "2012-06-19T00:39:26Z")
So whoā€™s in the best shape at the halfway point? To me, Team Alton and Team Tits seem to be fairly even. Team Bobby will only survive if there is a fix in. My order of finish: 1. Justin 2. Ippy 3. Yvan 4. Martita 5. everybody else. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-network-star-2012/622718/64 "2012-06-19T01:03:56Z")
They had the right duo up for elimination this week, it looks like. South Africa/Southern Gal (Likki?) was out of her element on this one. Iā€™m kind of surprised and disappointed that Retro Gal and Spiky-Haired Butch Gal have been soā€¦ middle of the pack. **silenus** probably has the order right unless someone steps up their game. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-network-star-2012/622718/65 "2012-06-19T04:30:22Z")
Even though I donā€™t think Linkie should win in the end, she did kind of get screwed this week. She seemed to be totally unfamiliar with Mexican food. Iā€™m not sure why the rest of her team didnā€™t seem to care how much she was floundering. Grill girl is also not going to win. ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-network-star-2012/622718/66 "2012-06-19T04:35:04Z")
The rest of her team didnā€™t care about her losing because itā€™s not their ass on the line. If they actually made use of the team dynamic, the producers could easily manipulate the game to where teamā€™s actually care about the team itself as a unit, but they donā€™t. I know itā€™s been brought up before but is there truly a more subtle team dynamic at play at all that Iā€™m missing or is it basically just a free for all? With the shitty cooks of course wanting to make sure their team does well so theyā€™re safe from elimination, but not vice versa. ---
**Author:** ![Cayuga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Cayuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cayuga)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-network-star-2012/622718/67 "2012-06-19T11:07:37Z")
Iā€™m very upset that Linkie is gone. Now weā€™ll never find out what ā€œLinkieā€ is a nickname for. (My wife and I have been obsessing about this. I know, first-world problems. Still.) ---
**Author:** ![Cayuga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Cayuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cayuga)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-network-star-2012/622718/68 "2012-06-19T11:10:46Z")
And yeah, 4 posts up (for some reason, all the user names on the board are presenting as squiggles this morning) is probably correct. We pegged Lipstick Boy as the winner back in Week 2 or 3, and the rest of that rundown sounds right as well. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-network-star-2012/622718/69 "2012-06-19T13:15:47Z")
I think the whole Girl on Grill =\> Grill Next Door is a perfect example of why the contestants have so much trouble. Be authentic unless you need to make up a character (like Nadia G or Guy Fieri) to be interesting. Stay true to your POV - unless you change it to something better. Oh and Judson, cooking healthy is the kiss of death on Food Network Star. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-network-star-2012/622718/70 "2012-06-19T16:26:58Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Oh and Judson, cooking healthy is the kiss of death on Food Network Star. Itā€™s **got** to be possible to make that interesting, right?! I think his problem was that he was flailing around and settled on that out of desperation for his ā€œtheme.ā€ Iā€™m not the biggest fan of whatā€™s-her-name whoā€™s their designated ā€œhealthy food so we can claim itā€™s not all food pornā€ cook (looked it up: Ellie Krieger), but at least sheā€™s trying. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-network-star-2012/622718/71 "2012-06-19T17:13:26Z")
I liked this week. The contestants are starting to coalesce into definable shapes from their nebulous blur of a few weeks ago. Iā€™ve even learned a couple of names! I like Lipstick Boy as a cook, I think heā€™s got some terrific cooking chops (heh heh) but unless he does a weird food show, I donā€™t think his personality makes me want to continuously watch him. On the other hand, I like Retro Girlā€™s personality and not her food. If only those two can immediately pump out a weird baby that will inherit the best parts of each parent, Iā€™d watch that show for sure. They canā€™t be any worse than Melissa Dā€™Arabian Hawaiian Guy still looks like heā€™s stoned half the time. He did a good job being more open and assertive, but heā€™s got a long ways to go. One segment in one episode doesnā€™t turn him from looking like a slacker chef into the Gordon Ramsey of the bunch I am really really getting annoyed with Old Girlā€™s ramblings. Sheā€™s not only wishy-washy and incoherent, she hurts her teammates. Butch Girl was perfect with Guy there. She needs to lobby for Guy to be her mentor. ---
**Author:** ![Lightsaber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Lightsaber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightsaber)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2012, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-network-star-2012/622718/72 "2012-06-20T17:41:55Z")
> [@Cayuga](#): > > Iā€™m very upset that Linkie is gone. Now weā€™ll never find out what ā€œLinkieā€ is a nickname for. > > (My wife and I have been obsessing about this. I know, first-world problems. Still.) Her name is Mari-Leen ā€œLinkieā€ Marais. ---
**Author:** ![Cayuga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Cayuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cayuga)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-network-star-2012/622718/73 "2012-06-21T22:47:37Z")
Thank you! ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-network-star-2012/622718/74 "2012-06-25T02:29:39Z")
Sunday, June 24thā€™s elimination: [spoiler]Retro Girl. Fine by me, I was getting tired of her schtick.[/spoiler] So moving along, why are Giada, Alton, and Bobby even on this show? Did they even contribute at all to this episode? Yes yes, ā€œthey add star power and familiar names to draw an audience.ā€ but whatever. Theyā€™re not adding a damn thing. The teams could be split up into colors and the ā€œteamā€ dynamic they have going wouldnā€™t change what-so-ever. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-network-star-2012/622718/75 "2012-06-25T04:20:58Z")
I want Marti ā€œIā€™m Afraid of Pennsylvaniaā€ and Grill Girl to go home yesterday but none of the remaining people strike me as stars. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-network-star-2012/622718/76 "2012-06-25T04:40:46Z")
I think Retro Girl has more skeletons than she has closet space. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-network-star-2012/622718/77 "2012-06-25T04:59:48Z")
So, on the one hand, I approve of Retro Girlā€™s refusal to exhume dead relatives for a cute story on the Food Network. On the other her ā€œI love the past because it was such an easy an uncomplicated timeā€ statement made me hate her. Almost as much as I hate ā€œI like to drive to the ethnically diverse neighborhoodsā€ Grill girl. By the end of the episode, I was ok with either of them leaving. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-network-star-2012/622718/78 "2012-06-25T05:20:58Z")
The right person got elimed. Now by my count, we are in for a couple of double-elimination weeks. 4 weeks left and 8 contestants. Figure 3 go into the last episode, and we get to vote for who wins. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-network-star-2012/622718/79 "2012-06-25T06:22:01Z")
I expected that as Alton was talking to Retro Girl, she was going to break down and say that in the 50ā€™s, uncles didnā€™t touch you or something like that. As a followup to my post last week on Girl on Grill =\> Grill Next Door, I feel like a genius that Tom and Susie said she wasnā€™t authentic after they had her change her concept. What I really love was that Grill-Girl called them out on that shit and all of the sudden they love her and how honest she is. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-network-star-2012/622718/80 "2012-06-25T11:17:14Z")
> [@amarinth](#): > > So, on the one hand, I approve of Retro Girlā€™s refusal to exhume dead relatives for a cute story on the Food Network. On the other her ā€œI love the past because it was such an easy an uncomplicated timeā€ statement made me hate her. Almost as much as I hate ā€œI like to drive to the ethnically diverse neighborhoodsā€ Grill girl. By the end of the episode, I was ok with either of them leaving. Yup. Iā€™m kind of having issues with their ā€œmust have drama and trauma!ā€ requirements; why canā€™t we ā€˜get to knowā€™ these contestants without hearing about what terrible things each endured and might not tell semi-close friends but are expected to divulge to strangers on TV? That being said, maybe some of them are so awkward on TV and unable to easily connect in other ways, they need this kind of ā€œlove me!ā€ sort of thing. I feel the same way about Retro Gal - I wish sheā€™d have been able to ā€œsellā€ why retro is charming, but too little, too late. Grill Gal still scares me. Itā€™s pretty appropriate sheā€™s on Bobbyā€™s team; he was hit with a lot of ā€œthe audience thinks youā€™re a jerkā€ stuff and did that Throwdown show to humanize him. (Nothing like getting your ass kicked by a grandma at making mac-n-cheese to make you more appealing, I guess.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-network-star-2012/622718.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-network-star-2012/622718.md?page=5)