"The Taste"

[rotuts]

as has been said much earlier in this thread by a savvy person: its scripted. just not well scripted.

[Jaymes]

My favorite part is when the chef-judges speculate as to whether or not the chef-testant that cooked any particular item is a professional or a home cook. Wish they'd do that more often.

[Bree20]

To Maggie the Cat - I was confused about who the blonde guy was too and it hit me about two hours ago when I was explaining to my husband who the 4 judges were - he is from Top Chef - he is the guy who cooked nothing but seafood and for the life of me I can not remember the season I think it was the 2 or maybe 4th.

Re: Brian Malarkey, I wish I could just turn off the TV and forget about him. However he is unfortunately our local "celebrity chef" in San Diego since Top Chef Season 3, and he is everywhere. Half a dozen restaurants already and he is planning to expand his empire outside of San Diego...

Thank you so much for the name and season - it was strange while I was watching I thought I knew him but did not give it much thought in fact I only watched the first 30 minutes then deleted - It was funny thou when my husband asked me what I thought and who the judges were that is when it hit me - we both laughed how these chefs look when they are intro and then after they have been "hollywooded".

As for the show did not care for it - to slow or maybe they were just to gabby over not much of nothing but I did get bored fast.

[OliverB]

still not sure about this one, I'll watch one more, but I think this is going to be a one season thing. Why they love a dish but don't hit yes is still a mystery to me. No obvious strategy here that I can figure out. And way scripted, I bet they have the producer in their ear, "let this one go, he's too nice, get that one, she's a *itch, good for ratings". All these shows are scripted and edited down from hours of filming, so that's not really a surprise. They just don't make it very interesting.

There is no reality in reality TV shows, every one of them is scripted to keep you hooked. The hook is just a bit rusty in this one.

[gfweb]

I honestly think the fix is in. How could Bourdain wait till the very end to pick unless he knew they wouldn't be losers? Good for the drama though.

[Tri2Cook]

I watched the first episode. I watched about 10 minutes of the second episode. I'm not sure there's much they can do now to get me to want to try it again.

[IndyRob]

I don't think it's fixed or scripted. Bourdain seems to have a fanatical desire for credibility which, among other things, causes him to explode quite publicly when he feels his endorsement has been implied without his express permission (Michelob, Cadillac,...). He was also pretty vociferous in defending Tom Colicchio's credibility and resistance to producer tampering on Top Chef.

I'll have to see how the rest of the series goes now that we're out of the audition shows. I like the concept of selecting contestants - professional or amateur - with one chance. One swing for the fence. But if they're going to drag this part out into two episodes, they need to find a way to make it more entertaining. Still, all these types of shows (Top Chef, Master Chef, etc.) seem to have to suffer through their initial episodes with quickfire separation of wheat from chaff.

I'm still not sure where we go from here. How do you mentor a team and somehow not know what they're cooking?

[mugen]

The whole concept is flawed. Nigella (too skinny) is the least self-serving celeb on the show. I'm embarrassed for Bourdain, who seems to have officially sold out. (I'm sure he has his reasons.) Ludo is a caricature of the jerk French chef, and I regret that I don't know who Malarkey is. The show is trashy and cynical.

I enjoyed it a lot.

Too skinny? She looks the best that she has in a decade, and she'll be much healthier for it, as well. Let me guess: you would prefer that she be overweight so as to serve as an inane excuse (by the term, 'voluptuous' - the proper meaning of which has nothing to do with size and which, in any case, Nigella had vastly exceeded) for millions for women who can't be bothered to maintain their weight. Seriously ...

[OliverB]

all these shows are scripted, every one of them. Not word for word like a movie, but in who goes on and what goes on. They'd be a lot more boring otherwise.

I had a fun conversation with a guy who creates these "reality" shows a while ago, there's nothing left to chance. And if something goes off script they just redo the sequence. You have to have drama, the person everybody loves to hate, the quiet one, the sexy girl, and so on. Just look at the panel, got the "controversial" AB, the goofball, the sexy lady and the french guy/outlaw full of tats and with a probably heavier accent than he really has.

Same in all these shows. You'll never find one where teams of boring non-drama people compete, people would tune out. It's all about ratings, if you don't have viewers you don't get ads, if you don't get ads you can't produce the show.

Watch them as entertainment, but not as reality or real battles or real competitions.

[IndyRob]

all these shows are scripted, every one of them. Not word for word like a movie, but in who goes on and what goes on. They'd be a lot more boring otherwise.

To me, scripted means just that - Scripted. This is more like 'arranged' which is what we'd expect from any game show concept. Is it heavily edited? Yes.

I had a fun conversation with a guy who creates these "reality" shows a while ago, there's nothing left to chance. And if something goes off script they just redo the sequence.

I don't think that happens here. It doesn't need to. Some of the best game show moments in history came totally unexpectedly.

You have to have drama, the person everybody loves to hate, the quiet one, the sexy girl, and so on. Just look at the panel, got the "controversial" AB, the goofball, the sexy lady and the french guy/outlaw full of tats and with a probably heavier accent than he really has.

I suspect that many people here would call that a properly planned dinner party.

Same in all these shows. You'll never find one where teams of boring non-drama people compete, people would tune out.

Top Chef: Masters comes pretty close. It's like the Pro Bowl of culinary competitions. Hey, we all make a lot of money - Don't hit too hard and endanger someone's earning power.

It's all about ratings, if you don't have viewers you don't get ads, if you don't get ads you can't produce the show.

Why must this come down to something so cynical? If you don't have good food, you won't have good customers. If you don't have good customers, you'll have to close your greasy spoon.

Watch them as entertainment, but not as reality or real battles or real competitions.

I thought that was what I was trying to do.

[mugen]

all these shows are scripted, every one of them. Not word for word like a movie, but in who goes on and what goes on. They'd be a lot more boring otherwise.

I had a fun conversation with a guy who creates these "reality" shows a while ago, there's nothing left to chance. And if something goes off script they just redo the sequence. You have to have drama, the person everybody loves to hate, the quiet one, the sexy girl, and so on. Just look at the panel, got the "controversial" AB, the goofball, the sexy lady and the french guy/outlaw full of tats and with a probably heavier accent than he really has.

Same in all these shows. You'll never find one where teams of boring non-drama people compete, people would tune out. It's all about ratings, if you don't have viewers you don't get ads, if you don't get ads you can't produce the show.

Watch them as entertainment, but not as reality or real battles or real competitions.

Watch UK Masterchef (any of the variants: amateur, professional or celebrity) - it's a serious cooking show/competition/culinary institution, and it eschews all of those elements that you've identified as making American reality TV an exaggerated, scripted, excessively commercialised, dramatic farce.

[rotuts]

then there is Great British Menu !

[gfweb]

http://assets.nydail...hef5q-2-web.jpg

Malarky looks really douchy.

[Werdna]

Watch UK Masterchef (any of the variants: amateur, professional or celebrity) - it's a serious cooking show/competition/culinary institution, and it eschews all of those elements that you've identified as making American reality TV an exaggerated, scripted, excessively commercialised, dramatic farce.

UK Masterchef is serious, and so very, very dull. I do get the impression that it's a serious cooking competition, but I also get the impression that the producers/directors could care less about what is happening and presentation. No dramatic music, or short bits of music played almost at random. Long shots of people staring at the camera without shifting facial expressions (why not keep the camera on the food?). No reaction from people being eliminated. Challenges where the contestant is asked to cook a dish. 10 minutes later, then next contestant same dish. Then 10 minutes later ... etc.

Just like with the food, the presentation of the show is also important.

[Holly Moore]

The hatch contraption adds so much excitement to the show. The Voice ain't got no hatch.

[gfweb]

I'd like to see the loser dropped James Bond style into a shark tank. The harridan on ABs team can go first

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[rotuts]

bad got worse. that takes talent.

[Derek J]

I had high hopes for this show, but it is a snooze-fest. The tiresome banter between Malarky and the French guy is not entertaining. Bourdain is a shadow of his formerly edgy self. This show is fantastic on paper, but the execution is booooooring.

[chileheadmike]

Has Nigella ever said a mean word to anyone?

This show need to be on Fox, she needs to go and be replaced by Gordon Ramsey.

[IndyRob]

I don't see a second season happening, but I think it will get better as the herd is culled. If it comes down to a home cook and a pro it might get good.

But I think the one bite format is very limiting in terms of what they can show prep-wise. Although I suppose it could be cool if, with four people left, they dragged in a whole hog and said "Somewhere in there is the perfect bite. Here are your knives. Find it. GO!"

[4NICK8ER]

I'd like to see the loser dropped James Bond style into a shark tank. The harridan on ABs team can go first

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Harridan - GREAT WORD !!

[Werdna]

Still having fun with this show, though I wonder if Nigella's contestant was retained out of pity?

Also wondering why they are in such a hurry to end these shows, it's not like there's a lot of content on TV nowadays, why make these things a measly 9-16 episodes when they could be extended so much longer? I feel that they are in a big hurry to end The Taste (and other American cooking contest shows) with all these double/triple eliminations... why? 200 + channels, I would think they would be loving an inexpensive-to-produce show that could be extended forever.

[Broken English]

It's not a bad show, though it's not what I expected of Bourdain.

For the comments re Nigella's weight, she came into Momofuku Noodle Bar TO the other night, she looked absolutely amazing. Especially given her age.