The puppet. XD
I did not care for the live signature dish event…I know it’s staged, but the audience reactions made me really uncomfortable.
Any word on what happened to MasterChef?
Sebastian sealed his fate before he even set foot in HK. The bus monologue killed him. Or the corn dogs…
You mean, what happened to the series? It starts again on May 22. I’m not entirely sure about this, but I think HK starts earlier because they’re changing to one elimination per week instead of two.
A glorified line cook with a $250,000 salary, IIRC. (One year, the prize was a job at the Savoy in London, but between the time this was announced and the winner determined, the UK changed its work visa laws to make it much harder to hire somebody from outside of Europe if the position could be filled easily by somebody from within, and “the winner of Hell’s Kitchen USA” was not considered “celebrity enough” to qualify for the “celebrity exception” (i.e. if a non-UK singer goes on tour there, no UK singer can sue, claiming that “they’re giving a singing job to a non-UK resident”). I thought the job was more of a combination line chef and media figurehead for the restaurant.
Note that this is “season 11” but not “year 11”; two years had two seasons each.
As for popularity, it has gotten to the point where they no longer need actors trucked in to portray the diners; if you live in the greater Los Angeles area, you can put your name on a list for a “reservation” at HK.
At least they have an excuse for botching the scallops and undercooking the Wellys now. 
[QUOTE=That Don Guy]
As for popularity, it has gotten to the point where they no longer need actors trucked in to portray the diners; if you live in the greater Los Angeles area, you can put your name on a list for a “reservation” at HK.
[/QUOTE]
Do you have a cite for the show hiring actors as dinner guests? They don’t get that much screen time, and why would you need to bring in actors to say “oh this is really good”?
I don’t live in LA but I’m curious how you get on the list, and what the pricing is like, if anyone knows?
I like Nedra, and while a hoo-ha that can vote is intriguing I don’t wanna see it.:eek:
[Caught snippets so far, recorded, will watch this weekend.]
I’ve reached the point where as long I don’t have to listen to some yahoo peanut gallery and powervoting morons don’t get to decide anything, I’ll give it a shot.
Yeah, it’s contrived as hell, and the challenges going down to the last item nearly every time (80% would be plausible; upwards of 98% is manipulation), and most of the contestants are bumbling clods, and sometimes Gordon Ramsey’s DI act is downright sad. So what, I find it entertaining. It’s nice to see lifetime incompetents have to live with people as annoying as them, and also face major challenges and get sobering reality checks. Honestly, I don’t even mind the truly toxic personalities. I don’t gotta deal with 'em, and they’ll get shown the door before they’re within sniffing distances of a quarter-mil gig. (Yeah, yeah, they made it look like Elise Wims got pretty close, but get real, any of us had as much of a chance of making the final pairing.) In the process, maybe some of them will learn a bit of humility. Heck, better chance of that here than American Idol.
It was weird when the women took the first reward challenge and the crowd acted like they won the Stanley Cup. Glad I’m not going to see THEM again.
As for Sebastian, suffice to say that no one has ever demonstrated the adage “The weaker the dog, the louder it barks” better.
Best part - JP’s back! Though his late entrace was odd.
Masterchef always runs in the summer. HK is just on early this year. I dunno if that means they’re planning to run another season this year, pair MC with something else (is Hotel Hell coming back?), or what.
If by odd you mean obviously a staged skit!
I don’t know their names yet, but that fat guy that was getting into it with the black guy, all I could think of whenever he was on screen was that he looked like an adult Cabbage Patch Kid.
Opening credits are even more ridic than usual. It’s like Michael Bay presents Transformers vs Hell’s Kitchen…
Remember the woman who on the first day made a dish that cause GR to retch? She then had a panic attack and had to be taken to hospital. We never saw her again.
That was a nice change!
Good to know it will be back. I haven’t heard anything about Hotel Hell…my mother loved it though (she really likes Chef Ramsay).
If some one could explain who JP is I’d appreciate it.
Is he supposed to be a comedic relief or something?
He was the original maitre d’ and all-around whipping boy for GR. His popularity grew and he would occasionally show up on some of the rewards, hanging out on the boat or beach with the winning team, drinking champagne. In the last season or two he was gone, replaced with someone much blander.
I missed the premiere of this. Is it another season of EXTREME KITCHEN SMACKDOWN!!? Or might we see some actual attempts at culinary anything this time around?
There are usually a few episodes with challenges that involve creating a dish bases on certain ingredients or to fit a certain style or whatever, but most of the challenges are more basic, like cutting up a chicken or making sausages or whatever.
Mostly the show is about watching GR scream at the (selected mostly to be) incompetent cooks.
Finally got around to watching this last night. It seems like we’re front loaded with obvious rejects to lose early this season. Sebastian’s gone, Gena, Jeremy (think that was his name, the young guy that mouthed off to Zack about minding his own business), and the “I never cooked with a brigade” girl really have no business being on the show. It’s a pity only one gets sent home each episode.
Early favorites:
Zack, who other than taking a few minutes to puke offstage, came through like a champ and appeared to earn some respect from Ramsey.
Old Guy–is his name Phil? He seems to know his way around a kitchen and handle the stress of competition fairly well. He did stick his finger in a dish, but I think he assumed it was a rejected dish anyway.
Nedra–she won’t win, but should provide some comic relief with her balls which she doesn’t wish to have busted and her voting hoo-ha.
Yeah, this season opener felt a bit weird to me. From JP’s obviously staged entrance, to the signature dish challenge, it just felt a little too forced.
And I noticed some creative dubbing with The Puppet Master. They showed some scene where she was working the puppet and her head was turned so you couldn’t see what she was saying, and they dubbed something in to makes it sound like she was in some type of verbal altercation with one of the other ladies.
I have $5 that says that “Alfredo Al Dente” ends up either shredded, or cooked by the end of the show. Any takers?
Wow. That was…wild. The names and faces are all blur right now. Have absolutely no idea where this is going, so just random comments:
Zach - Right now I’m classifying him as an intriguing darkhorse. Sure, he whines too much and can get a little full of himself, but he knows his stuff and really hunkers down when things get tough. (Kinda like me, actually. 
) The question is his staying power. I can understand getting fatigued or tense or even dizzy, but repeatedly throwing up is a bad sign.
Gina - As obnoxious as that puppet was, what I really found irritating was that whenever something like this happens, the response is ALWAYS the Cavalcade of Tired Predictable Hoary Cliches That Don’t Help. “Ooh, you’re acting like a 2 year old! WTF! This is so ridiculous! WTF! This isn’t Sesame Street! WTF WTF WTF WTF!!!” If I were in that situation, my response would be more along the lines of: “Gina, I am working here. I do not need this right now. Kindly cut it out or take it somewhere else.” Aside from that, it looks like she just plain doesn’t have anything going for her.
Nedra - Man, what a royal joke. Another “ghetto” nobody whose mouth is a hundred times the size of her ability. Rivalry with Gina is going to be her downfall. You cannot set a low bar on this show, because once it’s cleared, you’re next on the chopping block.
JP - By far the most surreal moment of the night (which is saying a lot). I don’t even get what his role is…comic relief? Plant? Chronic screwup? Rabble rouser? If he really is screwing up tickets, I think his comeback’s going to be a short one.
I agree; JP’s entrance, appearance, and behaviour are odd. Especially since we know, from past appearances, that he can be quite professional. No idea what they’ve got planned for JP this time around, but I’m sure they’ve got something planned.
I’ve seen the show before but I was wondering if this season was billed like the last season (which I didn’t watch beyond the first episode). Last season was “the wackiest, wildest contestants ever who will be getting into screaming matches and fist fights every episode!!!” The casting was obviously on the basis of personality rather than any kind of culinary talent.
It sounds like this season might be more of the same but if not I might tune in.
Hoo-has- plural. I think she was referring to her enormous boobs.