Six to Five
Sep. 13th, 2007 11:21 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jlhI'm going to be sad the rest of this show, because as I said last week, I'd be happy if any of the remaining chefs won, which means I'll be sad to see any of the remaining chefs go. So my sad, not much of a spoiler for who went.
That said, CJ, with his bending over into the frame in the credits and his sarcastic commentary on events had my heart from the first episode so I'm particularly sorry to see him go. Still, in the last two episodes I realized that he isn't ready—more ready than anyone from season 2, to be sure, but not the leader that he needs to be in order to be Top Chef. Yes, Tre's leaving was Tre's fault, but CJ did not help him, and CJ also didn't choose to lead. I think being a personal chef really hasn't prepared CJ to be that leader quite yet. But I loved his attitude on going out, that he gained the confidence to play in the big leagues.
I'm still not really rooting for anyone, because I think they're all great. It's getting harder to pick out the "loser's edit" because there are so few of them that they all get good airtime. It may be because there isn't an epic battle between good and evil the way there was first season that third season seems flatter, or it may be that because Collicchio hasn't been writing his blog the judging seems even more random—or that their judging has been harsher because the chefs only go from very good to kinda good. I don't think this season will end with the karmic satisfaction that season one did, but it won't have the bad taste of season two, either. I think season one was one of those perfect seasons of reality television, where everyone went exactly when they should have gone (except maybe switching LeeAnne and Dave, but you also always need a surprise). When I watched it again, just before the premiere of season three, I was amazed at how early Harold started almost controlling the wins and eliminations. He was one of my favorite kinds of reality show contestants: the kind that has no business being there, because they are too damn sane.
Anyway, I think that Tom making his needs clear about casting, and the way that the cooking community has clearly embraced this show, is a great thing, because the depth of talent this year was amazing. However, it makes for weird judging, and I think the producers are learning that they might need to edit judge's table less for the "gotcha" comments and the misdirection and more for clarity so we understand what the hell just happened. As Sara said in this episode, they're just splitting hairs at this point, so even more we viewers need to understand why they made the decision they did.
In other news, that "Better Half" show looks like a nightmare. Ew.
That said, CJ, with his bending over into the frame in the credits and his sarcastic commentary on events had my heart from the first episode so I'm particularly sorry to see him go. Still, in the last two episodes I realized that he isn't ready—more ready than anyone from season 2, to be sure, but not the leader that he needs to be in order to be Top Chef. Yes, Tre's leaving was Tre's fault, but CJ did not help him, and CJ also didn't choose to lead. I think being a personal chef really hasn't prepared CJ to be that leader quite yet. But I loved his attitude on going out, that he gained the confidence to play in the big leagues.
I'm still not really rooting for anyone, because I think they're all great. It's getting harder to pick out the "loser's edit" because there are so few of them that they all get good airtime. It may be because there isn't an epic battle between good and evil the way there was first season that third season seems flatter, or it may be that because Collicchio hasn't been writing his blog the judging seems even more random—or that their judging has been harsher because the chefs only go from very good to kinda good. I don't think this season will end with the karmic satisfaction that season one did, but it won't have the bad taste of season two, either. I think season one was one of those perfect seasons of reality television, where everyone went exactly when they should have gone (except maybe switching LeeAnne and Dave, but you also always need a surprise). When I watched it again, just before the premiere of season three, I was amazed at how early Harold started almost controlling the wins and eliminations. He was one of my favorite kinds of reality show contestants: the kind that has no business being there, because they are too damn sane.
Anyway, I think that Tom making his needs clear about casting, and the way that the cooking community has clearly embraced this show, is a great thing, because the depth of talent this year was amazing. However, it makes for weird judging, and I think the producers are learning that they might need to edit judge's table less for the "gotcha" comments and the misdirection and more for clarity so we understand what the hell just happened. As Sara said in this episode, they're just splitting hairs at this point, so even more we viewers need to understand why they made the decision they did.
In other news, that "Better Half" show looks like a nightmare. Ew.
