Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Hell's Kitchen Preps Main Course
"Hell's Kitchen" continues to be a welcome beacon on the lonely seas of Monday night, basic cable. But following last night's episode (#305), a few things became evident:
1. Julia (far left) is the class act on the "Red Team." Waffle House jokes aside, she's the steady hand in the kitchen. In episode #304's taste challenge, she dodged the bullet, having to identify boiled potato, fried chicken, and something else (carrot?) while blindfolded. The teaser for next week's episode suggests that the hayseed flies when she has to work with lobster, but for now, she looks fine.
2. Melissa was a nasty double-cross since episode one. Last night the girls turned on her...sort of. Bonnie talked tough...until Melissa came onto the patio (at which point she cried, I think). Dumping her on the men's team was genius on the part of the producers.3. The men's team is fine. Nothing urgent there. They might even take Melissa under their wing, at least for a week, and only if Rock doesn't drown her in the stock pot.
4. The casting for this season was a disaster. Who are these people? The cast, by in large, lacks personality, flair, cooking ability, good looks, and any other defining characteristic. The token oddballs weren't endearing, just...weird. (Aaron? He mostly sweated, and blacked out. If I cared, I search online for rumors of his demise, but I don't.) The men's team is barely discernible from one another. The women are a faint wisp of last year's crew. Seriously: was this a completely random selection? Granted, Chef Ramsay doesn't leave much room for others in his kitchen, but can you really imagine anyone actually running a restaurant? Teriyaki cart, maybe.
5. If I have to eat one more bite of pea risotto, I'm going to. But I won't like it.
6. Some of the show's most special moments: when strangers wander up to the window during dinner service. Ramsay screaming "giraffe" at one tall woman, very nice.
More at http://www.fox.com/hellskitchen/index.htm. Don't forget: Monday's at 9/8 Central. On FOX.
Labels: food, Gordon Ramsay, Hell's Kitchen, television
