No, you constantly talk about how you’ve “discussed this at length” but you never actually give an example. You first mention sabotage here but don’t give an example. You next mention sabotage here but don’t give an example. You talk in generalizations about what that “type” of person does and is like.
So, what specific act of malicious sabotage against another chef or his own team can you provide as evidence against Marcel?
Copout. You haven’t given any examples.
Jesus, this whole discussion is asinine. He sabotages as a passive-aggressive — something I’ve remarked on many times. He lets his pans jut out into the aisles where people are trying to walk. He pulls away from the team and plans individually, or else he tells the team to wait before it confers so he can get his own shit laid out. He nags people while they’re working instead of just closing the goddamn door himself. He refuses to help others serve even after they’ve helped him before. These are all examples that I’ve mentioned before, and there are others. Every single contestant on the show loathed him because there simply is no way to deal with a passive-aggressive personality. He is oblivious to the existence of any problem.
I don’t really like or dislike Marcel. He’d be really cute if he’d wear his hair normally and stop doing that freaky thing with his eyes. But he did give off the “pompous ass like Stephen” vibe in the beginning and he has cut down other chefs in the private confessions things - but so does everyone else. The most assholish thing I think I saw him do was when they won a group challenge and he had to take away some of Sam’s limelight as the group leader by saying he didn’t need a leader. Still probably not any worse than stuff anyone else has done. He may have been more of a dick behind the scenes but he certainly didn’t deserve what Cliff did to him. I think I decided that I didn’t hate Marcel when whatshisname threatened Marcel with a beat down because he moved the pig’s personal items off the dining table for the Thanksgiving challenge, which I felt Marcel had every right to do because the jerk would have known that they needed to use the table later and should not have left his crap on it.
But is Marcel any more likeable than anyone else? No. Do I want to see him win? Not really, mostly because I feel if he does have pompous tendencies it will only encourage him to continue to be that way and he’d probably be better off in second place.
Frankly, I haven’t seen the reason for all the Ilan hate I see here.
So we’re all in agreement then.
I think so, yes.
Just a reminder from friendly ol’ moderator: please play nice. While some of the comments here are not technically “insults,” they are certainly not in the realm of common courtesy or good manners. It is possible to disagree about a tv show without belittling each other.
And now for some Late To The Party commentary.
What a disappointment this show turned out to be. My wife and I started watching it a few weeks ago when a friend suggested we check it out. Bravo ran a marathon (shocking, I know) one Wednesday so we DVR’d 'em up and started watching episodes here and there to catch up.
Side note: On my DVR the episodes are labeled by number, but the numbering was bizarre. It started with episode 13, and proceeded incrementally until episode 19, where it suddenly skipped to episode 22. Number 22 was the correct next episode after 19, so I don’t understand the skip there. Did we miss a recap show or something? If so, no big.
Anyway, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more shameful group of jerks than the contestants on this show. Doesn’t anyone who goes on these shows have basic human courtesy anymore? Or respect for other people? On one hand, I can see the idiots getting into fights in the kitchen to some extent, but I was always blown away when they started flinging obscenities at each other in front of the judges. Especially the guest judges, who are at the top of their field. When I go to a nice restaurant, if the chef dropped by to ask how everything was, I wouldn’t respond, “Holy shit hoss, I am eating like a mother fuck!!!” I would respond politely to someone whose talent I respect. Is that concept just out of the realm of possibility for reality show contestants?
The worst part of this aspect of the show is that it’s terribly apparent that the producers think it makes for good TV. The Elia/Ilan cheatergate nonsense could have easily been excised from part 1 of the finale, but they wedged it in there for Maximum Drama.
I recommended this show to my in-laws (they liked Project Runway, so I thought this would be interesting to them too) after we’d seen about half of this season. If I knew just how bad it was going to get I wouldn’t have bothered.
Was the first season like this? I was considering grabbing it off iTunes to watch, but if it’s just more of the same I think I’ll skip it for classier fare. Maybe Jerry Springer.
It appears as though Food and Wine magazine hosed up and released the interview with the winner by mistake yesterday afternoon -
Ilan takes it. :eek: :mad: :rolleyes:
Gah!!! I am so tempted.
Must…not…click…
There’s no reason to watch now.
And the scuttlebutt is that Ilan has been calling Marcel to rub it in and leave taunting, gloating voicemails. That’s why Marcel won’t return the calls and why he couldn’t say WHY he wouldn’t return the calls.
This is turning out to be a shitty week of TV for me. First, Battlestar Galactica sucked. Then 24 sucked. Now this.
I might as well start watching American Idol instead… :eek:
This is just so soigné! 
Scuttlebutt is just scuttlebutt.
LOL, and now for more drama regarding the “who won” spoilers posted above:
[spoiler]Bravo is claiming that Food and Wine prepared articles for each of the winners, and Ilan’s got revealed by mistake. Here’s the link to Marcel’s version, which looks a little thrown together. 
Bravo's New Top Chef Tells All (not hotlinked on purpose so it doesn’t show through the spoiler tag)[/spoiler]
Grrrrr. Must. Stop. Opening. Thread.
Temptation. Too. Strong…
exits quickly
I caved. :o
Me too.