Tautology of the Skeptical Sinner

The length of the list of reality shows on TV these days is getting obsurd, so it’s no wonder that most intelligent people are sick to death of them.

So when I enthuse about HK to someone, I expect the eye-roll.

However, something about this show just turns me into a rabid fanboi, let me try and explore why here.

If you’re not familiar with the show, chances are you’ll never read this blog entry, but if we all thought that way, blogs wouldn’t get written at all! Anyway, the premise is this: Chefs from all walks of life, from Executive Chefs who already run their own kitchens, to line chefs, and even stay at home moms and dads who just cook for their family, compete throughout the season not to be eliminated, and emerge as the remaining winner. The prize is either their very own restaurant (in season one) to being the Executive Chef of one of Chef Gordon Ramsey’s own restaurants, with a $250,000 / year salary (The current season).

As with most Reality shows, each episode has two challenges. The first is a reward, with the winner(s) doing something fun while the losers have a punishment.  The 2nd is to avoid elimination.

Where the show stands out from all the other same old same old, is that unlike most of the other shows, the producers’ focus is not making the contestants look like idiots and simpletons. Occasionally they will show people employing strategy, similar to say Survivor, but for the most part it’s all about the cooking and what it takes to run a top quality restaurant.

Now, fine dining is wasted on me, I am just not into food.(I’d take 3 square meals in pill form if I had the chance). I do like the atmosphere of a high class restaurant, but good food is wasted on my dollar menu palate. So I have no clue what turned me onto this show except that the previews looked interesting, and I caught the first episode. Been hooked ever since.

The obvious main draw is Chef Gordon Ramsay who runs the show. He has an amazing personality, and an evil temper - as I understand all great chefs do. But he is phenomenal at what he does: getting the absolute best performance out of a chef of any calibre; Novice to Adept. Those people who’ve only seen exerpts of the show, naturally only see the explosive side of him, however he’s constantly pushing for excellence, and getting it. In the same way I imagine a Football Coach will yell at his team when they screw up, and praise them only when they produce the results he expects and knows they’re capable of.

The other element that appeals to me is the Challenges. Unlike the majority, the challenges make sense! They’re not just some stupid or fiendish idea the producers have dreamed up to make the contestants look as retarded as possible.  The 2nd Challenge, the one that determines who is getting eliminated that week, simply, is their performance during dinner service at the Restaurant that shares its name with the show, serving the general public.  They compete both as individuals and as a team. The Reward challenge is always a culinary excercise. Usually who can make the best dish during a specific time, or who can prepare the most amount of quality food ready for cooking with the least wasted etc…etc… The reward they win shows them perks of a Top Chef’s lifestyle, and the punishment is always the downsides of running a restaurant, the cleaning. As a result, throughout the course of the show, it’s preparing all the contestants, winners and losers, for the responsibility and rewards of running a top restaurant. Rather than looking for ways to make them look like idjits. Even the losers win the experience of working with an extraordinary chef in a quality restaurant, the longer they work with him, the more valuable work experience they get. Now I’m not saying it’s necessary something I’d expect them to put on their resumé, but I think you get my point.

If you’re not into food or fancy restaurants, it might sound a little boring. while I’m reading back what I’ve written, I’m thinkin’ “Wow, Skep, way to make people go ‘hmmm that sounds like something I might like‘” - I know! That’s why I’m writing this. To try and think through why I’m such of fan of a show that I can’t describe as exciting, but is.

It’s available on www.hulu.com a free web service I discussed earlier today as complete episodes of the current season, and little snippets. SO, if you’re inclined, stop on by and see for yourself and if you can do a better job of explaining its appeal, let me know!

Now I’m off to prepare some toast for breakfast!

(edit)Found a convert!: 

hulu.com - Dumb name, great site. Its a joint venture between a couple of the major US TV networks to share current and archived shows in their entirety. The Hyper-geek in me just got through watching the first two whole seasons of Babylon 5 - all for free and with only minor commercial interruptions.

I got involved in the Beta test of this site, and since then its just gotten better and better.

In addition to the aforementioned geek fest Bab5, they also have Family Guy, The Simpsons, Hells Kitchen, The Office, shoot… the list goes on - click here for a quick index. Sometimes they only have clips or info about a show, but there are a ton of full length episodes and a decent selection of full length movies. It’s updated next day, which is a good thing because I’m always too drunk sleepy to watch Hell’s Kitchen on Tuesday nights, and I have Wednesday morning off. So guess where I’m heading next.

Skep

I used to do Napster.

I try to be a law-abiding citizen, no… really, I do… Okay, fine.  But having been a paid performer once (very badly paid, mind you), when I found out that the artists were the ones really getting screwed, it just felt wrong to download any more songs for free.

Now, I’m not saying I deleted all the mp3s from my hard drive in a statement of solidarity, just… welp, probably shouldn’t do that any more. “You’ll never know what you’ll catch” was also a motivator.

But dammit, my choice in music is too damn eclectic to be buying albums left right and center. Plus I’m horrible with mistreating my CDs. (I take this as a sign of genius-like disorganization, my girlfriend thinks it’s because I’m a slob. We may both be right.)

So imagine my delight when I find a completely legal and free way to listen to tons and tons of songs, and never hear them in the same order… just songs I love, digitized and accessible from any computer in the world with a sound card, speakers and internet connection.

Finetune.com – just f@&%ing brilliant. If you like music, do go check it out. If you’re feeling brave and want to see what my taste in music sounds like, just click here: Skepticals Sampling of Sonic Sumptuousness

Love and Licks

Skep