Kitchen Confidential TV Show on FOX

[ronnie_suburban]

. . . I actually thought this episode was a little tighter than the pilot. Not necessarily funnier, but tighter.

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I agree and I enjoyed it more than the pilot. But Rachel has a point about the show about not being [overly] funny. I laughed a couple of times but not throughout.

I like the visual style of the show and the way the overall universe is depicted but those are elements which would be easier to appreciate and expand upon if the show were presented in a 60-minute, dramedy format. The 30-minute sit-com, especially on network tv, may not be a good venue for this material. I wish this show had found its way onto HBO or some similar, commercial-free cable outlet.

=R=

[M.X.Hassett]

After two episodes I can only say that its basically a crappy version of Chef!

Sorry Tony. It's no Sex and the City.

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I agree with the first part, thank god for the second part.

[inny]

I agree and I enjoyed it more than the pilot.  But Rachel has a point about the show about not being [overly] funny.  I laughed a couple of times but not throughout.

I like the visual style of the show and the way the overall universe is depicted but those are elements which would be easier to appreciate and expand upon if the show were presented in a 60-minute, dramedy format.  The 30-minute sit-com, especially on network tv, may not be a good venue for this material.  I wish this show had found its way onto HBO or some similar, commercial-free cable outlet.

=R=

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Agreed. I think we'd end up with a tone that is much closer to the book. Can you imagine if a wordsmith like Milch (Deadwood) got their grubby little mitts on it?

All said, I'll still stick around for next week. If nothing else, I can play the 'spot things I recognize from the book' drinking game.

[Daniel]

Its hard to watch after reading Anthony's Books, even more so after hearing K.C on tape.. And now I have to watch some tool bag do some glammed up boring version of actual events..

[dvs]

there is nothing on the show that resembles the book... i wish there was... i'm always up for a drinking game.

beyond that, the thing that makes it difficult for me is that i work in the industry (foh) and the portrayal isn't close to juicy as it could (even on fox) or should be. its not even a remotely close portrayal of a restaurant.

[inny]

there is nothing on the show that resembles the book... i wish there was... i'm always up for a drinking game.

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I didn't say it was a particularly good drinking game

But there is at least a little 'Bourdainism' in each show. The cocaine through the dried penne in the pilot's opening and the close-up of the ubiquitous thumb ring in the second are two examples that come to mind.

Still, I wish it were funnier, or dramady-er, or just better.

[johnsmith45678]

I think the show's alright...

[glossyp]

This short piece from Media Life Magazine may foretell the fate of the show. The writer of the article likes the show and believes the timeslot is a large part of the problem.

"Kitchen Confidential": Eat it up quick?

[PDC]

This short piece from Media Life Magazine may foretell the fate of the show. The writer of the article likes the show and believes the timeslot is a large part of the problem.

"Kitchen Confidential": Eat it up quick?

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Yes, if there's one thing I've learned in my time in the media biz, it's that there's never been a bad show in the whole history of television. It was either scheduled wrong, promoted poorly, or "the network suits just didn't understand it".

BTW - according to the 10/3 NY Times, the show has already been pulled from the schedule although not officially cancelled. Yet.

[ronnie_suburban]

According to this NYT article, Kitchen Confidential has been yanked:

. . . The Fox network looked at the ratings for the first two episodes of the drama "Head Cases" and immediately took it out back for a ritual cancellation. A new Fox comedy, "Kitchen Confidential," was yanked almost as quickly (though not officially canceled.) . . .

=R=

[Jason Perlow]

Wow, that was fast.

[ronnie_suburban]

Wow, that was fast.

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Yeah, especially considering that FOX likely has nothing but crap to replace it with.

What's next? "I Married a Billionaire Princess Wannabe"?

=R=

[Jason Perlow]

Well, in this case though, how can you blame FOX? It just plain sucked.

Frankly, I expected better of Darren Starr. Do you think he was just hamstrung by the limits of prime time network TV as opposed to cable? Not enough opportunities for raunchy language and sex scenes?

[ronnie_suburban]

Well, in this case though, how can you blame FOX? It just plain sucked.

Frankly, I expected better of Darren Starr. Do you think he was just hamstrung by the limits of prime time network TV as opposed to cable? Not enough opportunities for raunchy language and sex scenes?

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Well, I liked it more than you (considered it good but not great) but yes, I think the prime-time, broadcast venue (and all its limitations) prevented this show from being what it really could be.

=R=

[jhlurie]

Okay... John Larroquette is on KC tonight?

This will be the real benchmark. If the show can underwhelm us with a guy this funny as the guest, then we'll know it's hopeless.

[jhlurie]

Alright. The downside is that even with Larroquette it was pretty unfunny.

The upside is that this particular episode had a much greater quantity of actual "foodie" content--the whole argument about living well vs. longer, the scene in the farmer's market, the class conflict in the kitchen (although the REAL Bourdain would have had Hispanic cooks as well as dishwashers), the pecking order in the kitchen, the practical joking, and most especially the whole Bourdainesque scene/voiceover about how chefs hate picky eaters but love people who appreciate food.

It just needs to be funnier.

[inny]

Great assessment, jhlurie. Of the 3 episodes that have aired, this was the most uneven. How is it possible that the foodie stuff was less funny? Kitchen pecking orders and no eyebrows should be comedy gold.

Larroquette? Even though his dry wit should be perfectly at home here, it just didn't work for me. Maybe that's because the characterization of Jack's wit is a little too... wet? (What is the opposite of dry wit?)

I'll add a positive - the food looked absolutely great. I have no idea how authentic it was, but it looked better than the money shots on some cooking shows.

Edited October 4, 2005 by inny (log)

[Jason Perlow]

John Larroquete still needs good scripting to be funny. He wasn't even funny on his own prime time TV show (and the best person on it was Liz Torres) which was definitely funnier than KC, and I think that lasted three seasons from 1993 onwards? He was brilliant on Night Court, but that show had amazing writing and Night Court was probably one of the top 10 sitcoms in television history.

I think he has been doing TV movies now, a series called Mcbride for Hallmark? I haven't seen any but they aren't comedies, I think they are murder mystery type thingies along the lines of Columbo.

Ironically, I think Larroquete might make an interesting choice to play the contemporary Tony Bourdain, even though Larroquete is about 10 years older than him. If you think about it, Dan Fielding and Bourdain are very similar archetypes, so its not like its out of his reach.

[chefboy24]

i just can't get over how god damned good looking everyone on the show is.

show me a kitchen where the cooks (and dishwashers) are this hot and i'll work for peanuts.

[M.X.Hassett]

Just pulled this off of TWoP "The cast was on the Jamie, Jack & Stench morning show on Star 98.7 here in L.A. today, and they refuted the Times article. Still, who knows with Fox."

[hannnah]

The Times ran a correction to the story - the show's safe for now.

Correction: Oct. 4, 2005, Saturday:

An article in Business Day yesterday about the first two weeks of the network television season referred incorrectly to the Fox comedy series "Kitchen Confidential." The series is scheduled to return after the Major League Baseball playoffs; it has not been removed from Fox's regular programming.

[JPW]

The Times ran a correction to the story - the show's safe for now.

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That's unfortunate.

I caught a few minutes of it last night for the first time as I was waiting for Prison Break to come on. I found it to be absolutely painful.

[inny]

For those who care about such things... The new ratings are here! The new ratings are here! </Steve Martin>

"Kitchen Confidential" (households: 2.5/4, #T14; adults 18-49: 1.9, #T13)

Actually, this is not completely bad news. The households are down a wee bit from last week, but the desired demo is up a little. Also, it didn't drop nearly as many Arrested Development viewers as I thought it would. Coupled with the news that Fox isn't dropping it from the schedule, it looks like KC has a chance to finish out at least half a season.

Oh, and for all you Alias fans out there, Michael Vartan (Vaughn, Alias) is doing a guest stint on KC...

Television and film star Michael Vartan will guest-star as "Michel," an arrogant, womanizing French chef who steals from Jack's (Bradley Cooper) menu and seduces head waitress Mimi (Bonnie Somerville), sparking a brutal feud between Nolita and a rival French bistro on KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL. Production begins on the "F@#% the French" episode of KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL Tuesday, Oct. 4, in Los Angeles.

The title looks promising

[chefdg]

I liked about half of it. I hope it stays on, we foodies need more stimulation. Can't wait for f-the french!!!

[ruthcooks]

I just read--perhaps in AOL Entertainment?--that this show has been yanked.