tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8091935175643154469.post7552362186871029267..comments2023-12-05T22:37:07.987-05:00Comments on Authorized Musings: Whose reality?Jennifer R. Donohuehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00363886899308588391noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8091935175643154469.post-77834970872073942742011-10-27T19:18:24.283-04:002011-10-27T19:18:24.283-04:00The mini-restaurants were always so fantastic! And...The mini-restaurants were always so fantastic! And always had a "setback" that the chef had to work around, which I thought was both planned and a good idea. I'm always amazed by how tragic dinner servies still are when there are still 6 or 7 people left. Really? Come on guys.Jennifer R. Donohuehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00363886899308588391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8091935175643154469.post-24566952000175069722011-10-27T11:08:00.131-04:002011-10-27T11:08:00.131-04:00I'm kind of done with Hell's Kitchen after...I'm kind of done with Hell's Kitchen after this current season. They've fallen so far from the beginning of the show. Remember when they would have the cooks make their own mini-restaurants? Now they just have another stupid dinner service to determine the winner. And they got rid of that braying harpy Elise for all of two minutes before bringing her right back.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02101734323033788312noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8091935175643154469.post-10677877733652556612011-10-26T17:22:20.668-04:002011-10-26T17:22:20.668-04:00In general, I prefer BBC's Gordon Ramsay to Am...In general, I prefer BBC's Gordon Ramsay to America's. They allow him to be a real person, instead of a raving lunatic; really, without the connectivity that we have nowadays, we would have no idea that there <i>were</i> two Gordon Ramsays. I haven't watched all of it, but "The F Word" is a show I really wish had gotten syndicated, as-is.<br /><br />I'm still watching this season's Hell's Kitchen, wondering how they're going to top the drama next season. Maybe give everybody meth?Jennifer R. Donohuehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00363886899308588391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8091935175643154469.post-54992195992309347412011-10-26T11:56:10.699-04:002011-10-26T11:56:10.699-04:00Kirsten hit the nail on the head. It's like an...Kirsten hit the nail on the head. It's like any other drama. Once you see the puppet strings, you can see how it's structured. I got sucked into the last season of Hell's Kitchen, and you can always tell who's going home because they telegraph it like crazy. <br /><br />I do like the BBC version of Hell's Kitchen, because there's far less screaming and far more emphasis on the food. The Fox version loves to ramp up (or outright fabricate) the drama; the BBC version is much saner and pleasant.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02101734323033788312noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8091935175643154469.post-37948029862406755242011-10-24T11:06:51.865-04:002011-10-24T11:06:51.865-04:00Thanks so much for stopping by!
I think you'v...Thanks so much for stopping by!<br /><br />I think you've made a very good observation: the reality is a stressful, "fake" one, which is really a very big confound to the whole notion. <br /><br />And even on those cooking shows (Hell's Kitchen in particular) you have to wonder what's actually going on. I mean, if you really hate somebody, or somebody hates you, is a screaming match with all of those knives around the best way to handle it? That's a Law and Order episode waiting to happen.Jennifer R. Donohuehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00363886899308588391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8091935175643154469.post-82811152316684579372011-10-24T10:29:42.681-04:002011-10-24T10:29:42.681-04:00What's bizarre about reality shows is that the...What's bizarre about reality shows is that they aren't real. It's all ginned up conflict -- it's like putting a fly in a jar and watching it knock up against the glass. For fun, poor fly! <br /><br />You're not seeing how flies "really are," you're seeing how a fly behaves under very stressful, artificial conditions. <br /><br />Part of the whole frisson is that we all know that the participants have debased themselves, which contributes to the weird sense of power and superiority we feel since we are after all outside the jar, not fluttering around inside it. <br /><br />The only reality shows I watch regularly are the ones where there's actually some sort of competition involves -- like the chef's shows you mention -- then, at least, the poor fly has some control over his destiny. Makes it seem somewhat fair at least.Kirstenhttp://www.kirstenmortensen.comnoreply@blogger.com