Kitchen Nightmares: September 2007 Archives

Last night was a great night of reality TV! Kid Nation was really good and it was hilarious how Emilie and a few cohorts tried to lock the chicken coop so that nobody could slaughter the chickens. But of course, they relented and the kids had chicken soup later. I liked the pipes competition! They should do something like that on Big Brother. Just sayin'. And what about Michael getting the gold star? Greg was a little upset about that wasn't he? He even said he'd do something about it. We'll see.

Where should I even begin with Kitchen Nightmares? That was a freaking crazy episode!!! Gordon stayed in New York City to help makeoever Dillons, an Indian/American/English restaurant that was just a couple of blocks from his own restaurant. Dillons was a perfect example of how not to run a restaurant.

The place was filthy! Flies buzzing all around the dining area, rotten food in the kitchen, and rat droppings and oodles of cockroaches in the basement with all of the food. I was seriously afraid I'd get food poisining just by watching through the TV screen. I did get nauseous quite a few times during the show. Ewwww!

And how many managers does a restaurant need? Martin was the General Manager, Andrew was the Operations Manager, Khan was the Floor Manager, and then there's Mohammad who was the owner who had no clue. Martin was awfully inept and lazy preferring to busy himself with his cell phone and have his hair stroked (???) by customers in the dining area. What? He quit at the end of the show and I'll bet that was when he immediately filed his lawsuit. BTW, the lawsuit was thrown out and the judge ordered all parties to mediation. Did you notice the quick little blurb at the end about how Purnima (was Dillons) is now successful? Ick.

On Dancing With the Stars, poor Josie Maran and her partner Alex made their exit. I wanted to see her stick around another week at least. And did you see Dolly Parton? Wow.

What did you think about last night's reality fare? It was a crazy night of programming that's for sure!

I was really disappointed by Kitchen Nightmares tonight. I had such high hopes for it because I've always loved the UK version shown on BBC America. The American version? Not so much.

It started off like the UK version kinda. Gordon's arrival wasn't a 'surprise' like the UK version. Gordon did taste the food like he would do in the UK version. He inspected the kitchen like he would in the UK version. We met the restaurant owners and workers like the UK version. But come on.

The voiceover guy for Kitchen Nightmares sounded like a bad imitator of the voiceover guy for Hell's Kitchen. I actually think I've heard him do voiceover work for Discovery Channel or History Channel or something.

And what was up with the stupid sound effects for the captions on the screen? That's not needed at all and was really just plain dumb.

Then Gordon has their kitchen redone overnight? He's replaced a stove or oven or shelving or some other such thing in the UK version but never had their kitchen redone. A new kitchen does not make a great restaurant as we learned in the end. It's all about the chef.

And we didn't get much from the chef tonight. The show focused completely on the co-owner Peter and his complete and utter lack of self-control and kitchen experience. Do you even remember the chef's name? I don't. Because the show was all about Peter.

Peter acting like a wannabe mob boss. Peter acting like a bad ass fighting (really - fist fighting) a debt collector. Peter being a douche to his staff. Peter eating the food out of the kitchen that was intended for the customers. Peter giving away meals and wine for free. Peter taking money from that night's take even when they didn't turn a profit.

They didn't even end the way the UK version does. Tonight's show just ended with basically Gordon wishing them luck and Peter's sister (and co-owner herself) thinking that Peter will change. This after Gordon told Peter that he's doing the family restaurant more harm than good. I see things changed a lot in that area. Not!

In the UK version, Gordon shows up and visits the restaurant 4-6 weeks later. He'll tell them if they've done a good job staying on course or if they've gone back to the same old same old and is disappointed. He checks in on the staff and tracks what's going on.

I think what I really disliked most about this American version is the lack of attention on the chef. The UK version is all about the chef first and the owner(s)/manager(s) second - unless they're both equally at fault for the sorry job. The U.S. version? Argh.

I'll give this American version of Kitchen Nightmares one more shot and if it's not any better next week, it will be out of my lineup.

But I promise you. If I'm ever in Babylon, New York and Peter's was the only place left open? I would go to the local pet food store and eat dog food first. Peter and his attitude (not to mention the state of his walk-in refrigerator) was enough to make me wanna starve myself. Yech.

What did y'all think of Kitchen Nightmares tonight?

Besides Kid Nation, America's Next Top Model and Kitchen Nightmares also start their seasons tonight.

ANTM is on the CW tonight the same time as Kid Nation is on CBS (8:00 PM ET/7:00 PM CT). Ahhh, the first time this season that my DVR or computer (can't decide which) will be doing double duty. I'll be watching Kid Nation when it comes on so ANTM will be recorded for viewing later on this evening. Don't forget though that if you miss tonight's ANTM, it will be replayed on Sunday evening at 9:00 PM ET/8:00 PM CT. Go take a look on ANTM's site for pics of the new girls we'll be meeting tonight. Are you like me in that you love the opening of ANTM? If so, be sure to go watch this YouTube.

Kitchen Nightmares comes on FOX tonight at 9:00 PM ET/8:00 PM CT. The first restaurant he'll take on will be Peter's in Babylon, NY. I can't wait to find out how different or how similar Gordon will act in this American version as opposed to his UK version. I love the UK version so I really hope Kitchen Nightmares here will be just as good. Check out the Kitchen Nightmares site for some videos when you get a chance today. And have I mentioned I have a huge crush on Gordon? LOL

What's your viewing schedule going to be like tonight? What show are you most excited to watch this evening? And be sure to listen to the latest Reality TV Podcast with Rob and Trevor when you get a chance today!