and now im pissed!!!
Yesterday evening I cam home from work feeling incredibly down and bored with everything! My job has become a bit too repeatative for my taste right now, January is finally hitting us here in NYC and any excitement within the popular culture world has been sucked dry!
I was discussing with my boyfriend the fact that Andy Warhol pretty much created the beginning of the end. His mashing of art with business could have been the beginning of the demise of American culture as we know it. Granted, I adore Andy Warhol and I believe the things he brought were incredibly valuable and let a generation understand it was fine to step out of the norm and not be relagated to a life in a box. So we ranted and raved about music and movies and tv and art and everything that should be entertainment and expressive and how unimpressive most of it has been recently.
So we turned off the tube, listened to the Phil Spector boxed set and took in a calm night. But then I realized that Top Chef finale was in and I turned on the TV at 11, so I could fast forward through the commercials ( I heart DVR!!!)
I watched the entire episode and found what was so interesting was that Sam was the only one, I thought, who stepped away from the show realizine his weaknesses mmore than his strengths and went to great lengths to develop them. He could have easily gone back to his old job and kept doing what he was doing, but he stepped out of his comfort zone and learned a few things. And when his boss said that she never met another chef " with less of an ego in the kitchen" I thought, this guy truly deserves to win. And whn the final 15 minutes occured of the Finale, I was floored. Actually disgusted.....I I have watched with pride what i thought was the alternative to basic reality programming on Bravo TV for the past 3 yeas, beginning with Project Runway and then Top Chef. I was even excited abotu the new Todd Oldham show....who can forget him from House of Style....
But what I saw yesterday was the alternatie to the idiotic standard reality crap...PR and TC used to be competitions of talented folks who wanted to excel at their careers. We saw people who tried to get a in on their careers and grow as professionals. What I saw last night was a kick in the face to all fans of TC. Sam, the most talented and humble chef there was kicked to the curb for the two biggest brats that hit the kitchen this season. Marcel, a marginally talented foam maker and cook, who had no humility, but kissed ass whenever possible, was a sly jerk in the kitchen. He managed to upset everyone in the kitchen, which makes me uestion any type of leadership this could provide. And there is Ilian, who I think has consistently skated by, with quality stuff, but nevver really knocking it out of the park. On the other hand you had Elia, a strong chef, who tried various new projects the entire time and Sam, the chef with most wins, a huge degree of humility and a genuine interest in making a great meal. And I was shocked when Sam and Elia were kicked out in favor or second rate losers....but when Tom said his manner or personality has nothing to do with this competition I couldnt help but become furious. Who wants to support a person with no interest in others? I dont!!!
Im still mad and knew I wasnt the only one. I just left one of 1000 + comments Tom Calichio's blog on Bravotv.com has received within less than a 24 hour span. About 98.5%of the comments echoed my feelings and stated that Top Chef has lost their viewers with this poor move. I hope that anyone out there reading this and feeling same way i do, send a comment, write an email or call BRAVO or NBC Universal.
here is the direct link to the blog:
http://www.bravotv.com/blog/tomcolicchio/2007/01/finale_part_1.php
feel free to leave me opinons....
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1 comment:
To be honest I thought Sam played it a little too safe in the last couple of episodes, and it always irritated me to no end when he brought up his diabetes (except in the camp challenge). At most culinary institutes, you learn at least a little of chocolate. Sure, maybe he’s never had a chocolate bar, but I’m sure he’s at least sampled some nibs or powder… Plus I thought he was a bit two faced- liked to talk smack and say he’ll step up at the judges table, but when everyone looks over at him to chime in, he never follows through…but Anyways, Marcel did not deserve to go in, and I was bummed that Elia and/or Sam did not make it. Elia really grew on me, plus she was representing the ladies. And Marcel, well Marcel talked a hell of game and never truly stepped up to the plate (plus his a little irritating sack of shit). What made it clear that the producers stepped in to create more drama for me was that last year, despite the fact that I thought Tiffany did not deserve to go in, They said they evaluated everything, from a person’s way of handling the kitchen, to their overall performance, etc…. This year, clearly they did not, unless evaluating their way of handling the kitchen and interaction with others means creating drama and making a good show. I mean, as feisty and annoying as Tiffany was, it certainly didn’t make up for Harold’s dullness. I think they were afraid for that with Sam as well…
But in Defense of Ilan, he had some really yummy looking stuff, I really think from early on . And he did have some really innovative and apparently tasty ideas(especially looking at the first episode’s box competition). Yeah, he became a cocky douche, but I think he won’t disappoint food-wise for the finale.
By the way- You should come to my gallery in March- photographer Snowdon is exhibiting for the first time in New York, and Bowie and Jack Nicholson and all these other people are supposed to show up!
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