Hell's Kitchen Season 4 (1 Viewer)

[WillG]

I agree that Matt should have been ousted along with Louross. I was pulling for him to emerge a few weeks ago (pretty much because I felt bad for how everyone treated him) but by now it is clear that in spite of a couple of occaisions where he shined, he cannot hack it in HK. I guess at this point I am looking for either Bobby or Corey to win. They seem to have some competence and haven't screwed up anything recently like some of the others.

 

[Martino]

Matt is just too strange for me - but it is like watching a train wreck, with those Fozzy bear expressions of his. He is either extremely happy, or about to cry....

The previews of next week make him seem to be going postal and completely loosing it. I think that is why they are keeping him around. It seems like if he does anything at all, his team looses and he is put up - but somhow he escapes. In last nights episode, the girls got tired of him messing up and put him on clean up duty, and they ended up winning.

Ramsey put Matt back with the guys this week, to add to the conflict. Bringing back Jen to the red side will also elevate the conflicts. Once those two go home though, it gets down to a cooking show where people can actually cook, as apposed to watching a disaster of bitching and moaning vs. sweating in the food...

 

[Lew Crippen]

Jen would elevate the conflict if she was on a team of 1

 

[Aaron Silverman]

I cannot watch this show anymore without thinking of this quote. EVERY TIME.

 

[Chris Lockwood]

I'm thankful it was cold enough at the beach for them to wear wetsuits, since I was not looking forward to seeing Matt in his swim trunks.


This show really makes me wonder how most of the time I go into a restaurant, they manage to cook the food properly... is it really that hard to not serve raw meat and the like? It's almost like these people have not cooked before. I don't think I'd want any of them fixing my meal at this point. How are they going to handle a real menu when one with less than 10 items throws them off?

I haven't seen previous seasons- is it always a bunch of so-so wannabee chefs?

 

[Chris_Morris]

This has been the worst season, to me, as far as actual talent goes. There is really no one that I am rooting for or that I really think should win.

One thing I noticed from the previews for next week:
It appears the teams are done by dinner service. They were all wearing the individual black jackets

 

[Aaron Silverman]

I agree -- the talent level seems to have dipped this season.

Running a kitchen is pretty stressful on its own (my wife used to own a small restaurant). I can imagine how challenging it is with Chef Ramsey screaming profanities in your ear.

 

[James Lee]

For the record, I do NOT speak from experience!

Matt is a piece of work. He gushes in true kumbaya spirit going and on about how he loves his two female teammates and they get along so well. Then at dinner service the girls turn on him and he goes into full "whaaaa" mode. Priceless.

Poor Louross. He seemed to have pretty much given up trying to stand up to Jen constantly. Still, the inability to cook meat strikes again. How can a chef not know how to cook meat properly, even with all the pressure in the kitchen? Seems pretty basic. Even though Louross deserved to go, I would much rather have seen Jen leave. She is such an incredible cretin. I thoroughly enjoyed Ramsey calling her out for the crappy blue menu, 60% of which was all her idea.

Ramsey must be wondering whether or not anyone is going to be competent enough to run his restaurant. No on left in that group seems a cut above the others. Petrozza has the right attitude, but seems very disorganized. Bobby is a big pile of mediocrity. Jen compels anyone around her to want to kill her. Matt is a knife wielding serial killer in waiting. Maybe one of the two blondes ultimately ends up winning.

 

[Jed M]

Hopefully for Ramsey there is some sort of out clause where he can just pay the contestent off and keep them out of his restaurant. They over cast this season with weirdos just for shock value and I don't even think they did a very good job at that with the exception of Jen and Matt. Hopefully next year they will bring back some talented chefs. A few freaks are fine though.

 

[Stan]

This show has always had incredibly annoying and obnoxious contestants, but there were usually a few that were entertaining. I'll never forget Dewberry, the chubby crybaby, he was hilarious. Matt is similar, but he'll never match Dewberry's emotional meltdowns.

I understand how people can completely lose it emotionally, but these guys act like all their family and friends just died in a plane crash. It's just a cooking contest.

Have any of these contestants ever watched previous seasons? It's pretty obvious there's a 99% chance they'll be making risotto, beef wellington, beef filets, scallops, chicken breasts and other dishes that repeat over and over every season. How about practicing for a blind taste test, it's going to happen.

For some reason I keep watching this year, but they're very close to crossing the line and vanishing from my viewing list.

After it became obvious that the scum of the earth father/daughter team was going to win Big Brother last year, I stopped watching, never saw a single episode of the latest season, and will never watch again.

There's to much negativity in the world already, why purposely go out of my way to watch even more.

 

[WillG]

Well, usually I don't have much sympathy for people who put themselves out there for this kind of thing and end up with hurt feelings. But, I can attest that the conditions that they are put under such as contant pressure to perform in certain way, being contantly berated (especially by a person you very much look up to), competition for something that you seem to really want, being forced to work with people you don't always get along with or even like, lack of sleep, tight quartered living conditions, etc. can truly break you down emotionally to the point where even the slightest thing can really put you over. I remember when I was pleding a fraternity, even though I knew that you're supposed to be treated horribly etc. I almost broke down a couple of times (especially during hell week where we got maybe 2-3 hours sleep in two days.) Come to think of it, I did have an embarrising breakdown involving tears and an almost broken hand when they tricked us all individually into thinking we were the only ones in our pledge class to fail the final test. Point being, I can understand the unstable emotions even though it is a glorified cooking contest. But it does make for compelling television.

 

[Chris Lockwood]

> IIRC these shows such as HK and The Apprentice where a position is what is being dangled comes with a very "lavish" amount of money as "Salary" which makes it seem like it is more of a "prize" than a salary.

The Apprentice paid $250,000 salaray, which is not lavish at all for an executive, especially if they have to work in an expensive city.

I always thought it was funny that shows like Survivor, where it is clearly a prize at the end, pay out more money than The Apprentice, where the person supposedly has to work for a year to make that amount.

I guess the truth is that for HK it's more like a prize that also gives Gordon the option of employing the person. In other words, he might let you work in his kitchen, but either way you get the prize money.

 

[Martino]

I think in an earlier season, at the end in the final show Ramsey offered a choice of the restaurant OR getting a full scholarship to his cooking school. It seemed to me like a no brainer, but the dolt chose the cooking school instead.

I'm thinking there was some pre-arrangement so he would not choose the restaurant because he wasn't ready. Compared to this year’s group, he was way ahead of them.

It must have worked out, as that guy showed up last year, and it said he had his own restaurant now.

 

[Jed M]

Not only that, but Michael's tutelage under Ramsey was pretty worthless (he was in London less than a month), so in reality he didn't win anything but recognition (which may be the most important prize). I also have read that the reason Ramsey offered him the tutelage under him is because the producers were scrambling and couldn't get a deal together for a location/restaurant to give him. I also think that played a part of why Michael won because the producers felt he would be more willing to take the apprenticeship over Ralph who was more seasoned and ready to open his own restaurant (a restaurant they couldn't provide). That is why they now have secured the restaurant at the beginning of the season so there is no question about what the prize will be. The first season was a mess as far as the prize went.

 

[Jay H]

No commentary on last night? Matt shows up with a black sweatband.

Jen's "holier than thou" attitude is highlighted, at least until the rice is burned and she is kicked out, in which it was just an "honest mistake".

Seems like the producers have not run out of adjectives like "stay tuned next week for the most extreme episode of hell's kitchen ever". Gee, they say that about every week... Frankly, it's getting tiring! Still, a fun show to watch, I imagine sociologists would be having a field day with this program (and Survivor).

Jay

 

[Chris Lockwood]

I hate to see Matt go; it's just not the same train wreck without him.

 

[Hanson]

Ahh, the Sanjaya Effect.

 

[WillG]

I don't know. Watching him last night was way too cringeworthy. Watching him actually gave me anxiety.

 

[Ralphie_B]

Best line ever, by Bobby (re: whether Matt deserves to be kicked off the show): "Matt deserves to get kicked off the universe."

I LOL'd at that one.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Petrozza reminds me of a beaver when he's giving quick commentary of the events.