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Hercules Digs Into Fox’s KITCHEN NIGHTMARES!!
SPOILER ALERT !!
I am – Hercules!!
“Kitchen Nightmares” is very much akin to reality shows like “Supernanny” and “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” if one overlooks the fact that its central character is an almost relentlessly angry, profanity-spewing Cowell-esque Englishman.
The grimly fascinating Gordon Ramsay throws around advice and production cash in an effort to help family restaurants correct perceived missteps. Ramsay seems to overcome the laziness of a bullying eatery co-owner and mobster wannabe in tonight’s installment, an arrogant chef and beaten-down mama’s boy in the next.
Tonight’s episode left me very curious about what was being left on the cutting-room floor. Insidiously, this only made me crave a second installment, then a third.
But what matters Herc’s opinion?
Entertainment Weekly gives it a “B-plus” and says:
… Mary Poppins it ain’t – which is fine because the snotty broad couldn’t begin to handle this.
The New York Times says:
… The thrill of watching Mr. Ramsay is in witnessing someone so at peace with his own arrogance. … The subtext of “Kitchen Nightmares” is that ordinary middle-class business owners need brash and brilliant moguls to save them from a sad reliance on their own mediocrity. It is an ugly message that Mr. Ramsay makes undeniably hypnotic.
The Los Angeles Times says:
… It is loud and manipulative and ugly to behold, but it isn't dull.…
The Chicago Tribune says:
… Never mind the cooking; this edition of the show appears to more interested in playing up the family dramas at the restaurants Ramsay visits. Will the spoiled brother in Episode 1 change his ways and start helping out more? Will the harried, spineless manager in Episode 2 start standing up to his mom and his staff? Magically, all these problems are solved by the end of each episode, which makes you wonder just how superficial these makeovers are. (The second restaurant was said to have a terrible stink – what happened to that?) …
The Miami Herald says:
… The show's boorishness is exceeded only by its dissimulation; not one frame of this thing -- from the diners who seem not to notice that their table is surrounded by camera crews to the melodramatically villainous managers -- is remotely believable. Kitchen Nightmares has achieved a rare distinction: It's the least credible reality show on television.
The Hollywood Reporter says:
… formulaic effort replete with all of the genre trappings that we have come to know and endure: the tearing down process, the building-up process, the on-cue clashing, the momentous music that builds to a driving crescendo -- and of course, the editing-for-maximum-sensationalistic-effect.…
Variety says:
… shockingly good storytelling and hilarious. This may be the most compelling show of the new season. …
9 p.m. Wednesday. Fox.
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"You know what's interesting
about Matthew Fox?"
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yeah
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to actually read the article...
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In the original you really do get a feeling that Ramsay cares about the restaurants he visits. Its a very different Gordon Ramsay then we see in Hell's Kitchen, one that is occassionally very frank about his own mistakes.
Somehow I think Fox is going to play up the yelling and screaming and arrogance. There's more to Ramsay then that and maybe if we're lucky they'll show some of his more human side.
The biggest thing for me though is going to be sitting through a Bleeped version of Kitchen Nightmares. I get the original uncensored up here in Canada and it can be very, very profanity laced.
(oh and first) -
I've watched the British version and its pretty good. Curious to see how the American restaurant owners react to Ramsey's balls out approach.
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Yeah, Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares was a much more subtle show (if you can use "subtle" and "Ramsay" in the same sentence), and you could see that the tough love he doled out really had a purpose beyond just being bombastic.
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Yeah, I've been Tivo'ing the British version and have been enjoying every episode. Promos make him out to be a jerk, but while obviously pretty foul mouthed, he is a straight shooter who does seem to care about what he is doing. He obviously really helps some of these people who are ready to lose their life savings. The shows do get a little repetitive sometimes (much like Queer Eye did...) with most of the restaurants just needing a simpler and fresher menu, better customer service, and better staff communication. As Dizzle pointed out, I'm curious how the egos of American owners stand up to his act.
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My wife and I love the British version of this show. We have fanatically Tivo'd every airing on the BBC. We are both very curious to see how the show is put together here in the U.S. I tend to agree that FOX will play up the screaming / swearing Ramsay we see in Hell's Kitchen as opposed to the tough loving bastard on the BBC. Can't wait!
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Big news of the day: Tony Almeida is coming back to 24!! http://tinyurl.com/yqzgcl
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The U.K Kitchen Nightmares is great. Anyone who uses the word "twat" more than once an hour is o.k. by me.
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Didn't one of these restaurant owners sue Ramsay over this series? I imagine that episode will not make air.
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...until I read the read up. Looks like they've changed the format a LOT from the Channel 4 original - it really wasn't about the people's relationships with each other at all, but just how they'd ballsed up their restaurants.
I wonder if they'll do a Revisited style follow up like they do in the UK? -
no wonder the majority of the usa sits at the borderline retardation level.
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Gordon Ramsay is definitely not an Englishman!
He's an interesting character and always has something to say for himself. It's great that he's doing the US version of Kitchen Nightmares as any other host just wouldn't cut the mustard.
I'll be sure to check this show out if it makes it over the pond. -
First off, I'm a yank but have always given mad props to Ramsay from his early days in the Boiling Point, to The F Word, to Kitchen Nightmares, he is just intriguing to watch. I usually can't wait for the BBC America to run the series so I look elsewhere (new groups) for my fix. To be one of only a handful of chefs in English restaurants to get 3 Michelin stars, that is saying something.
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I mean, c'mon, how much is it going to cost to add subtitles so your average American can understand English?
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Watching Ramsay force people to admit that they're 'in the shit' is the shit.
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...and is well worth a Season Pass on your TiVo (though his other/newer show, The F Word, is ever more awesome). Actually, BBC America is kicking ass right now with this, Top Gear, Torchwood and Graham Norton - all bloody brilliant. (BTW, among my many favorite Ramsey-isms: FIND YOUR BOLLOCKS!)
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I hear the narration will not be by Ramsay, but rather the soft-voiced doofus who narrates "Hell's Kitchen." They're also going to give the restaurants money. Big mistake - Fox should have stuck with the show's original format.
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I don't like that "give them money to overhaul their restaurant"... Then it just becomes "Extreme Restaurant Makeover". What made the BBC version great was just how doing little things like perfecting a few simple dishes or doing some key marketing could make all the difference in the world (at least that's how they made it look to be).
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just please call someone a "fucking donkey" or whatever. Hell's Kitchen is the only "reality" show I can stand to watch, and it's because of the Chef.
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Man that voice over is crap. So is that stupid Who Wants to be a Millionaire dramatic music. Go watch the good version on BBC America.
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I hate the over-edited, go-for-the-money-shot look of these reality/makeover shows. Things shot from several angles, like no one notices the 20 cameras watching thier every move. Everything is drama, big arguements, violence, people looking scared/angry/disinterested. It's like they're told to take ultimate offence to everything, just to get the big reaction. It almost feels scripted. I agree, the U.K. version of Kitchen Nightmares is absolutely brillent, because it looks like Ramsey actually cares about getting good food to people.
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It's utter bullshit, like in Hell's Kitchen. Also, WHAT HAPPENED TO THE FOLLOWUP? They better do it on the next ep.
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Ramsay can do no wrong in my eyes. I just wanna taste his food.
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What a disappointment! But then it's Fox Television, so what else could you expect? The same tired reality show tropes with a tired narration. The far-superior BBC version is all about Ramsay, and features him in voiceover as well as on camera. You know immediately he is invested in doing the right thing. The US version makes him look like a bystander, if not a referee. That sucking sound isn't a suddenly-unclogged drain. It's this Fox show ruining the reputations of everyone involved. If Ramsay has any bollocks, he'll bolt.
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Inside the kitchen he's a foul-mouthed genius bastard, but outside of it he's a genuinely nice but no-bullshit bloke. The food in Claridge's is fucking immense. Yes I swore, because it's that good and this is the legend of Ramsey we are talking about.Oh yeah, and don't let him look at your girlfriend directly in the eye, seriously. He's like the reverse-Medusa with women, one look and they turn to jelly.
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DirkD13 -
Didn't meet him, but I ate at one of his places, Petrus, and it was amazing.
I agree with the criticism on this board. I'd like to add one thing; Fox has completely stripped out of the show it's biggest redeeming quality as reality TV, and that is the basic business/economics lesson that the BBC version has. You can actually learn something from RKN. Ramsey isn't a tyrant, he's more of a couch or a teacher, something that is missing in his US shows. -
What better way to launch the U.S. series than Ramsay versus a hot-headed Italian Godfather-wannabe from New York? Loved the line about preferring to spend $2,000 on a new oven instead of his suit. Still, I do miss the follow-up and I hope they bring that back quickly.
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...should have been called Dumbass instead of Peter's! And Peter has watched one too many episodes of The Sopranos! But I liked the first episode of this show; no, I haven't seen the original British version, because I have too many shows on the DVR to watch without going with overseas programs too!
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the original series was on Channel 4 and not the bbc. The first two series were great. But I have a problem with the superchefs. I think the trashing the irresponsible jamie oliver got was spot fucking on. It smacked him down to earth. Since Nigella lawson reveled that she was borderline dyspraxic she has gone up in my estimation.
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his background. His father was nasty piece of work, dumping his daughter into foster care when she joined a Punk and wanted to pursure a singing career. Gordon Saved his wife from the hands of mate who was a wife beater. She was 25 He was 42. On the Day that Ramsay senior died, he had agreed to eat in ramsay first restaurant in the Savoy. A week before hand, Gordon cooked a meal for the family, and Ramsay snr, said this is the first thing you have done without screwing up. Ramsay snr died on the day he was due to eat in his Son's first Restaurant. Ramsays Wife is very posh and her dad runs Ramsay's worldwide restaurant empire. that is 7 restaurants, around the world, 13 micheliene stars and turnover of 45 million a year.
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Although I'm a little dissapointed of the narration and deviation from the original no-frills approach to it :/
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I also think the idea of giving them a new kitchen suite like Ty Pennington was about to jump out of the walk-in with his megaphone, is kind of wack. I like the original formula of him coming in, kicking ass and taking names. Ramsay does rule all though and for those that may think he is a tad gruff to newbies, remember he trained under Marco Pierre White and was treated just as bad, if not worse. If you want to see a younger, slightly pudgy, just boned out of Aubergine, pre-three Michelin star Ramsay, get your hands on The Boiling Point series. A good watch.
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Straight shooting, takes no shit, and gets the job done without worrying about beating around the bush. And all the girls want to fuck him.
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He would totally punk the hell out of Jack Bauer. "Why didn't you make a backup copy of the evidence that would clear your name? You're the stupidest bloody CTU field agent I've ever met, donkey."
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