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Battlestar Galactica, TV reviews

Down Memory Lane:Battlestar Galactica(1978)

Poster for Battlestar Galactica (1978)
Richard Hatch (L) as Captain Apollo, Lorne Greene (C) as Commander Adama, Dirk Benedict (L) as Lt. Starbuck
Image: Universal Pictures, All Rights Reserved.

In the rankings of fan favorites for science fiction/fantasy tv there are two main categories: the good and the awful. The rest, as John Kenneth Galbraith notes, fall into that third category of “guilty pleasure.” It is admittedly a subjective category but allows one to express that some shows had something worthy of watching but failed in its delivery. And the original Battlestar Galactica fits into that mode. Derided by many as a rip off of Star Wars (which itself blended elements of many known motifs and the famous Japanese movie The Seven Samurai), it still maintains a loyal following to this day even after the re-imagined series has run its course.

Series creator Glen Larson was a master of timing from all accounts. He had many shows under his belt that were based upon successful movies. Although the seeds of Battlestar Galactica were thought about before George Lucas came along, the popularity of space adventures meant the time was right for something different. And Battlestar Galactica offered to do just that. About the same time there were popular writers arguing that extraterrestrials visited Earth in its distant past leaving their mark in ancient civilizations. His show would combine both a space opera aspect and feed into that theme. The opening credits had this narration to offer up this tease for the audience:

There are those who believe…that life here began out there, far across the Universe…with tribes of humans…who may have been the forefathers of the Egyptians…or the Toltecs…or the Mayans…that they may have been the architects of the Great Pyramids…or the lost civilizations of Lemuria…or Atlantis. Some believe that there may yet be brothers of man…who even now fight to survive—somewhere beyond the heavens! (There was a slightly different ending for the movie version .)

With big money behind the effort at ABC and Universal, the show drew good acting talent along with people who worked on Star Wars like John Dykstra (although he would leave the series later due to conflicts about the quality of the episodes). Lorne Greene (of Ponderosa fame) was cast as Commander Adama. Richard Hatch as Captain Apollo, Dirk Benedict at Lt. Starbuck, Maren Jensen as Adama’s daughter Lt. Athena (a bridge officer), Terry Carter as Colonel Tigh, Lew Ayres as President Adar, Ray Milland as Sire Uri, and John Calicos as the treacherous Count Baltar, and Wilfred Hyde-White as Sire Anton. During the season other famous actors would appear such as Fred Astaire, Bobby Van, Ray Bolger, Randolph Mantooh, Lloyd Bochner, Edward Mulhare, and Patrick Macnee (who played Count Iblis and was the voice of the Imperious Leader along with the opening narration in many episodes). Jonathan Harris lent his voice to the Cylon Lucifer.

Synopsis
Battlestar Galactica (BG)is set in either a distant part of our galaxy or another one (the BG writers were awful about many astronomical terms and their meaning) in a binary star system where twelve planets make up what is called the Twelve Colonies of Man. The names of the colonies are from the Zodiac. They are an advanced spacefaring civilization and descended from a mother civilization called Kobol. Although they speak English, much of their vocabulary is radically different from our own in key ways. For instance centaries instead of hours or yahren instead of years. Terms or names infer a connection to our own mythology (names like Apollo, Athena for instance). The colonies are united in a political union though its exact nature is not clearly defined but has an elected president (in this case President Adar) and the Council of Twelve which are leaders selected by each colony to serve as advisors to the president and possibly head up important areas of government. Commander Adama is the senior Colonial Fleet officer (his exact title is the complicated commander-in-chief instead of Fleet Admiral or Chief Fleet Operations).

The Colonies were at war with Cylons but a peace treaty is about to be signed. The Cylons were a sentient reptilian species that decided to create humanoid robots to serve their needs. Over time these robots became sentient and replaced the original Cylons who are believed to be extinct at this point in time. Their cosmic view of an ordered universe meant humans have no place in it. By extension that would also mean other sentient life might be considered a threat making the Cylons a grave threat to any race they encounter unless they were a more advanced civilization. In a future episode (War of the Gods) we learn that Count Iblis, either a fallen Lord of Kobol or Satan, is behind the Cylons. Which means the Cylons are part of a larger plan in the BG cosmos. The war lasted close to a millennia and President Adar is delighted mankind will at last have peace. Adama is unsure but demurs to Adar. Unfortunately Adama was correct. It turns out to be a ruse. A routine patrol led by his son Captain Apollo and another son Lieutenant Zac find a Cylon tanker and a large Cylon task force. Their discovery prompts the Cylons to attack sooner then intended but it has devastating results. Only Adama’s ship was prepared since he decided to run a battle drill. The other battlestars are unable to launch their fighters and the Cylons are fully prepared to use kamikaze tactics to destroy the battlestars. While this battle is going on, the Cylons move their large ships to attack the colonies directly. All the planets come under attack. We learn in a future episode that Baltar sabotaged the planetary defense platforms. Adama did take Galactica to Caprica but is unable to stop the holocaust that occurs. A lull in fighting allows Adama to collect survivors into whatever transport is available and lead a convoy away from their home system.

220 ships manage to make it with about 50,000 survivors scattered amongst them. They stop at Carillon, which is an old tylium mine, to get supplies and other needed things. However it is now being run by the Ovids (a sentient insect species that runs the resort) and there is a resort where many humans are living it up. They have no idea the colonies have been wiped out. The mine is huge but the official report (d0ne by Baltar’s people) downplayed it. Astonishingly the new Council of Twelve, with the repulsive Sire Uri as member (who was found hoarding food earlier), wants to disarm and live on Carillon! Unfortunately both the Ovids and Cylons get in the way. Turns out the Ovids have cut a deal with the Cylons. The Ovids happen to like how humans taste (literally) so keeping them around for food serves the Cylons nicely. However the Cylons have a small outpost on the planet and when that gets discovered (along with learning the Ovids like to consume humans), a gun battle ignites the tylium in the mine. Meanwhile the Cylons show up and a clever ruse by Apollo and Starbuck forces the Cylon ship closer to the surface where internally it is getting ready to blow. It does taking with it the Cylon fleet and its emperor (called the Imperious Leader) with it.

So where does the fleet go now? Well Adama suggests finding the 13th tribe, which according to scripture, went to a planet called Earth. He does not know its location (unlike the Adama in the re-imagined series that lied that he knew)but believes it is their best hope. And so the Colonials set off on their voyage of discovery and each episode, narrated by Adama ends:

Fleeing from the Cylon tyranny, the last battlestar, Galactica, leads a rag-tag fugitive fleet on a lonely quest…a shining planet known as Earth.

Meanwhile Baltar is spared (in the theatrical version he is beheaded) setting him up as the main protagonist for the series. In the following episode, he is given a Cylon ship and Lucifer to find Galactica.

Critique
Overall the pilot (Saga of a Star World) is not bad. It earned top ratings on television and the theatrical release also did well. Comparisons to Star Wars aside, the show offered something different. A distant but related colony of mankind that lost its home worlds and now seeks Earth as its new home. Their adventure to find Earth offered more opportunities to show their culture and history. Not to mention what they learn on their journey to Earth. So it was a promising start but has it problems. Special effects wise the pilot was well done but later on in the series, those special effects got reduced down to recycled footage to keep costs down. Supposedly the cost per episode was $1 million dollars, which was considerable back in 1978.

One of the big complaints is how the civilian government is always wrong and Adama always right. Critics are right to point this out as a problem. President Adar is a naive in trusting the Cylons and leaving the colonies unprotected by bringing all the battlestars. The new Council of Twelve is always inept and foolish while the military is always right.It  began in the pilot when, after the destruction of their home worlds, the Council of Twelve wants to disarm and live in peace. That is such a nonsensical position to begin with. When the Japanese attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor on 7 Dec 1941, there was no doubt in most people’s minds what needed to be done. Nor in Congress or in the presidency. War was declared and America went to war. It hunkered down, got the resources moving, and went out to challenge the Japanese (and later the Germans). Those that advocated against war were relegated to a corner where they could talk amongst themselves. No one wanted to listen to them.

Critics say the show advocated fascism but I doubt that was in Glen Larson’s mind. Rather this is an example of lazy thinking and not understanding the implications of what the characters were implying. In short, bad script review. Worse was the total misuse of terms like galaxy, sector, quadrant throughout the series. Then there are the cliché driven episodes that really stank. Since they rushed to series, they relied upon using western themes hoping to fill out the schedule. And they really botched it about what happens in space. You can go up, down, right and left. A planet with a huge pulsar cannon can be easily avoided without having to remake, Galactica style, the Guns of Navarone. Since fire cannot burn in space (no oxygen), the episode Fire In Space was a nod to Irwin Allen. And trying to put out a fire with water would be likewise useless (it would freeze). The re-imagined show got that part right by having the affected area vented to space.

The did however manage to produce some stand out episodes that overall still made the series compelling.  Lost Planet of The Gods took us to Kobol, Living Legend found another battlestar and its well known Commander Caine had also survived, War of the Gods introduced Count Iblis and the mysterious beings of light, and Hand of God had Galactica turn around and take on the Cylons and at the same time receive an interesting message that had traveled thousands of yahrens to get there (the moon landing). Some of the lesser episodes were not totally bad like Baltar’s Escape or The Man With Nine Lives in which Chameleon (played by Fred Astaire) might be Starbuck’s father (turns out he was but wanted it kept secret). And the ratings, overall for the entire first season were not totally bad. But ABC cancelled it despite its strong ratings (and some better ideas for a second season) likely because of the cost. And so ended Galactica.

Not quite. Perhaps because they realized they erred or the stars aligned properly, they decided to bring it back. Unfortunately that was Galactica 1980. Larson really lost his mind on this venture taking with it any loyalty of fans with it. The show had Galactica arrive at Earth in our time frame (totally contradicting the original series) and was a total mess. No one who liked BG liked Galactica 1980. It quickly went down in ratings and then a merciful dump into trash bin where such shows as My Mother The Car are tossed into. From that point on, I doubt many BG fans ever trusted Glen Larson again.

The Re-imagined Series
The SciFi(SyFy now)miniseries and series was a wholesale reinvention of the BG story. Ron Moore, who worked on Star Trek:Deep Space Nine was an executive producer with David Eick. Glen Larson is listed as a consulting producer. The show ran from 2004-2009 and received good ratings though they slipped in season three and four. It was received critical acclaim in many places as well. Many in the classical BG community were disappointed it was not either a continuation of the original BG series or a remake of it. The series was darker and more gritty in tone, not unlike Otto Preminger’s excellent 1965 World War II movie In Harm’ s Way. In that movie nearly all the major characters had significant flaws.

In the re-imagined series, there are significant changes. First, the Cylons are a creation of man. They were created as robots to serve them in a variety of tasks and rebelled. Second, the series fleshed out the religion of both humans and Cylons. Humans were polytheists who worship the Lords of Kobol, whose names are chiefly drawn from the Greek pantheon though Egyptian, Roman and even Norse ones appear as well. Cylons were monotheists (worshiping one god). Like the original series the humans are descended from a mother civilization that came from Kobol. Unlike the original series, on Kobol they co-existed with their gods until they had to leave. It is unclear exactly what these Lords of Kobol really were. Were they really deities, a highly advanced race that benevolently tried to help humans, or humans that had become like Bodhisattvas?

This dueling theology (polytheism vs monotheism) made the show interesting along with the conflicts between the military and civilian leaders. We also learn in season 2 where Earth is and, as it was revealed at that time, there could be only explanation for how this information was displayed: that humans had come from Earth setting the whole thing in the future. However that turned out not to be the case at all. By the end of season 4 we learned that the 13th tribe that left Kobol 2,000 years before the departure of the colonials were humanoid Cylons and settled on not-our-Earth. There they learned to procreate naturally without the need of resurrection technology. But alas they also created mechanical robots who rebelled and the resulting war killed everyone leaving that Earth a desolate wasteland for Galactica to find. There were five survivors (the Final Five) who were warned about the destruction, used resurrection technology to save themselves, and set off for the colonies to prevent them from mistaking the same mistake. They got their too late but did end the war and created the new Cylons (Cavil etc). In the finale, after the destruction of the Cylon colony, Starbuck enters the coordinates realizing a song she heard her father play has the information. And then they arrive on Earth II, our Earth it seems. An Earth that already has a tribe of primitive humans genetically compatible with them. The colonials decide to settle, give up all their technology, and start anew. The Cylon centurions are given their freedom to head out into the cosmos and the remaining Cylons decide to stay on Earth. Adama selects areas around the globe for people to settle in. 150,000 years later we see New York City and a man (Ron Moore) reading a news story about the finding of a  mitochondrial Eve, which is Hera Agathon, born of a Cylon mother and a human father. Messenger counterparts of Six and Baltar speculate on whether it will turn out as before but Six thinks they will make it by the law of averages.

The finale was controversial. It not only misused what mitochondrial Eve is, it made it abundantly clear that a supreme being was behind everything from the beginning. In short, none of the characters had any free will. They were living out what this deity wanted, Cylon and human. And only a supreme being make another Earth and make it compatible for the colonials. The colonials desire to somehow make a change never materializes because there is no evidence they ever existed on this Earth. They also gave up everything for a simple basic existence, which defies logic considering how dangerous that is considering the threats they know exist. Aside from diseases they have never dealt with before they would have a hand to mouth existence living on what ever they are able to grow, catch or raise. Another troubling thing is that, if there is a supreme being involved, the same bad thing happens over and over again. It happened on Kobol, on the humanoid Cylon world, and in the Colonies of Kobol. It is like a lab experiment, with only variations on a theme. Either mankind is doomed to make the same mistakes over and over again, or perhaps there is another element that is sort of hinted at. Perhaps there is a fallen Lord of Kobol or Lucifer that exists as well that somehow manages to help muck up what ever this supreme being tries to do.

A mess is what it is and Moore, like Larson, has earned wrath from the fans who may not trust him again. Why Moore choose this route is anyone’s guess. If the original series can be blamed for sloppy writing and poor thinking, one can argue Moore over thought this series. It would be one thing had from the start if a supreme being was calling the shots and have them deal with it by trying to circumvent the design. But that is now it was laid out for most of the series. Babylon 5 had its principal characters challenge the Vorlons and Shadows to stop trying to make the universe in their image. It forced them to leave when they learned none of the younger races would be part of their grand plans. That might have had a chance on this Galactica had it been shown the Lords of Kobol, in competing factions, were behind much of went on.

Final Thought
The possibility of a movie based on the original series is still out there. Glen Larson owns those rights and has indicated a script is being done. And if reports are accurate, will link to the re-imagined series. Since the shows took place in different eras (the re-imagined show thousands of years ago, and BG thousands of years from now)it is possible to link them. It would be interesting to see how that turns out. Till then those of us who enjoy the guilty pleasure of watching the classic BG can do so thanks to it being out on dvd. It is also available on Netflix (dvd and streaming as of this date). Battlestar Galactica was one of those shows that ought to have succeeded. But a combination of bad writing, incoherent thinking, and costs all conspired to ruin a promising show. It had its moments, like all guilty pleasures do.

End Notes
1. For those wanting to delve deeply into classical BG, I highly recommend John Kenneth Muir’s book An Analytical Guide To Television’s Battlestar Galactica(McFarland & Company, 1999). It is available through Amazon in hardcover and paperback editions. Also check your local library as well. Muir gives the series a through examination going through all its good and bad points. John Muir has a website and a blog.

2. There are numerous websites about Battlestar Galactica. But a good place to start is Battlestar Wiki. The site has detailed information about the classic series, the re-imagined series, Caprica, and Blood & Chrome.

3. One of the most well written analysis of the finale was written by Brad Templeton on his blog Brad Ideas. The entry Battlestar’s “Daybreak:” The worst ending in the history of on-screen science fiction goes through all the problems created by Moore’s decision to make it all God’s will and use Hera to fit Mitochondrial Eve.

TV reviews

MasterChef Junior Ends On A High Note

The first season of MasterChef Junior is over after 7 episodes. This whirlwind competition saw some really terrific cooking from some very small kids. What made this show stand-up and make people take notice is how well it was done. Other kids reality shows have gone badly, with parents being divas and kids becoming divas. And while many shows about kids tend to exploit them, MasterChef Junior choose to treat them with respect, give them encouragement, and even when they send home the losers made sure it was done right.

Fans of Hell’s Kitchen and MasterChef know that Gordon Ramsay is never afraid to say what he thinks (resulting in the usual bleep). On this show, except for one occasion when Gordon had cream dumped on his head, there was no need to bleep one word out. Joe’s stare was downgraded to a more friendly gaze and he did not dump any dishes into the trash. And Graham was mostly still Graham, though his comments less pointed than normal if the dish was below par. The judges spoke encouragingly of the kids and tried give them helpful advice.

They also avoided tricks done on other shows to elicit reactions from them (like having people lie to them to see how they react) or set-up conflicts as well. I previously commented that perhaps next season they would try to inject conflict. Thinking it over, I realize they are not likely going down that path. They simply do not need to. The formula they are using works just fine. If there is any conflict (at this is a competition so there is apt to be), it will be minimal. Doubtful we will see a younger version of MasterChef scheming characters here.

Friday we saw two rising aspiring chefs, Dara and Alexander, compete for the top prize. They used the same format as the finale for MasterChef where they set up a culinary thunder dome, have the eliminated contestants and family around, and give them 90 minutes to produce a stunning three course meal of appetizer, entrée and dessert. Unlike the regular, they only had to prepare one serving (the adults prepare three servings, one for each of the judges). During the cooking phase, Dara started having a problem feeling a bit weak and needing water. The competition stopped for a few moments (but the clock kept ticking)while water was quickly brought to her and Alexander tried to calm her down. Then the competition resumed.

The judges were floored by the food they were served. Each of them produced stunning dishes and only minor technical issues separated them in the end (Dara had a more sophisticated appetizer while Alexander’s was more simple or Dara slightly overcooked her prawns in the entrée while Alexander’s was perfectly cooked). This was very definitely a tough call which meant the winner was someone who just nicked out the win. Like one of those horse races where the winner just has the slightest edge over the other. And so Alexander became the first winner of MasterChef Junior. Dara though is by no means crying about her loss. The judges complimented her on how well she did. She walks out of there without a trophy but invaluable experience that will shape her future.

This show was overall a success and the ratings bear it out. The finale was second overall behind Undercover Boss on CBS. Last Man Standing (ABC) came in third. It never fell out of the top three during its run but I still think it runs into the believability quotient. More people watch Undercover Boss because it is more believable to them and perhaps more entertaining then watching kids cook. Also many are wondering whether or not the kids were actors, coached behind the scenes. and think the whole thing is staged. All reality shows are staged in one way or another, but how they do it makes the difference. In this case they used the tried and true MasterChef formula for selecting the kids and the challenges. And yes they use selective editing to their advantage.

Are there concerns? Yes. Parents are the ones being targeted by Fox to get their kids into the competition. It makes sense but also allows “stage parents” to offer up their kids. If you are unfamiliar with “stage parents,” these are parents that push their kids into all kinds of acting jobs often acting as their managers. Some push them into movies, or television, or even modeling at young ages. There are unfortunate examples out there of these parents who have damaged their kids so they can get fame. That being said, most parents are not in this category but they have to be careful about deciding to do this. There are plenty of people out there willing to use kids for their own purposes not to mention Internet trolls. Parents will need to really be on top of things if they go down this route. And not just the parents. The producers need to protect these kids as well and prepare them for what lies ahead. Andy Dehnart over at Reality Blurred says it best:

Producers and networks have a responsibility not just to care for their young cast members on set, but do their best to care for them after production and when the show airs, preparing them for the reality of life on and off a reality series, such as encountering criticism or ridicule from strangers online.

I began reviewing this whole show asking the question Are These Kids Really Kids? They are and they are exceptional ones at that. My other concern is that they perhaps put too much pressure on these kids to be like adult cooks. However the way they are treated on this show avoids a lot of nastiness and instead tries to induce mutual respect and good will. Cooking is one way to learn your own skills for later in life but also appreciating other cooking styles and methods. And any show that allows the three MasterChefs–Gordon, Graham and Joe–to take a cream bath knows how to tread the line between serious competition and injecting some fun into it. So I look forward to another season. I hope next year they will bring in some guest chefs like on the regular show and perhaps some past MasterChef winners as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRDzslaMEyM

Sources:
Why Masterchef Junior is awesome, and very different than TV that hurts kids (8 Nov 2o13, Reality Blurred)

TV Ratings Friday: ‘MasterChef Junior’ Rises, ‘Shark Tank’ Steady + ‘Grimm’ & ‘Dracula’ Fall(9 Nov 2013, zap2it.com)

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TV reviews

MasterChef Junior Finale(Part 1)-Soft Boiled Eggs & Chicken Parts

rooster and hen
Photo: Andrei Niemimäki (Flickr)

We are down to the final four when this episode began and it ends with the final two. It has been very fast, perhaps even rushed to meet time deadlines (like school). For the first part of the finale, it looked like it would be a typical MasterChef challenge EXCEPT that it was not. They used live props again–chickens–since it was the theme of the night. While the flightless birds pecked around the hay and kids wondering if they will need to kill and pluck them, Gordon tells them they will be cooking eggs. Gordon likes soft boiled eggs. Done right they are truly a delicious meal. Now at this point I was expecting Joe or Graham to step up as well.

Now here is what I was expecting. “Wait a minute. I am not interested in a soft boiled egg. I want a perfectly cooked sunny side up egg,” says Graham. He takes out a cloche and lifts to reveal a perfect sunny side up egg. Then Joe pipes up that he is not interested in either of those but wants a frittata. The looks on the kids faces turn even more scared. Three egg dishes, three different techniques. Good luck. No instead here is what we got: cook one soft boiled egg. The catch is no timer. Not even the MasterChef clock is working. Considering how easy it is to overcook or undercook these eggs, it is a real challenge to cook without a timer. Even experienced chefs might have a problem with this one. It is as if they wanted the kids to fail on this one. They had to know that most would underperform in this task. Not one of them got it and Troy won since his egg was the least overcooked. At least no one served up a raw egg.

Troy then gets to select what chicken parts each person will cook. He chooses the thigh, gives the wing to Dara, Jack the breast, and Alexander the liver. Needless to say, Alexander got something none of them wanted to cook. Liver has a bad reputation but I can tell you from experience that good cooked liver is delicious. And remember that when you cannot afford the prime cuts, you have to make lesser cuts taste great. So it is off to the races as now they are cooking to be the top two.

A Sad Fail
All four get cracking on their dishes. Dara is used to making chicken wings at home and is confident. Troy is taking the chicken thigh and plans to pan sear it, finish it in the oven, and serve with a Romesco sauce. Alexander decides to make chicken liver pate over garlic crostini. And Jack is the most ambitious of all. He makes a goat cheese roulade wrapped in pancetta. This is very technical dish, one that takes finesse and confidence to pull off right. Jack at one point needs to race back to the pantry not once, but twice tiring out Gordon who follows him saying it is like a marathon. Dara’s bow thing starts falling down on her eyes at one point. Finally time is up and one by one they are called up to present their dishes.

Troy brings up his chicken thigh, which was pan seared and finished in the oven. It looks good as do the accompaniments. Sadly when Gordon cuts into the thigh, it is underdone. Gordon was disappointed and Troy looked deflated as well. Joe likes the Romesco sauce and compares it favorably to his restaurant version, he also is disappointed. Troy walks back to his station knowing his days in this kitchen are numbered. His only hope is that someone else has done much worse. Sadly for Troy, that was not the case.

Dara presented soy and ginger wings with pickled vegetables. Graham likes the pickled vegetables and raves about the chicken wing. This is not your ordinary chicken wing but one, as Joe points out, that is a signature dish. Alexander brings up his chicken liver pate on garlic crostini on a wooden board for the rustic touch. Gordon loves it and asks if Alexander had tasted it. He did and liked it. Gordon was happy to learn this because it meant he was not afraid to try unfamiliar foods. He half-jokingly (I think) offers him a junior job at the Savoy in London. Alexander, of course, is thrilled but he will have to wait a few years for that to occur. Jack’s dish is a chicken breast roulade with goat cheese and pan seared with pancetta. It looks wonderful and gets rave reviews as well. It is certainly the most complicated dish presented and shows how competitive and gutsy Jack is.

Final Judgment
Three out of four dishes are successes making it difficult to decide who are the best two. The judges noted the many accomplishments Alexander, Dara, and Jack did with their dishes. In the end, Alexander and Dara are chosen as the top two. Jack in his Hawaiian shirt is sent home along with Troy. Both did very well to get this far. Troy made a fundamental mistake in cooking the thigh. In Jack’s case, it was likely close but Alexander and Dara had better techniques in their dishes.

My Thoughts
It is astonishing how these kids performed. It is not surprising the two oldest, Alexander and Dara, ended up the top two. One internet commentator speculated Alexander was a ringer as he seemed more confident and had better skills than the others. Some are going to wonder, and have wondered, whether the kids were coached behind the scenes. So far there is no evidence of that but one can assume that parents may have done so to bolster their kids chance of success. Not every parent would do this but it is not unusual for it to occur. Some picked up their skills in the family kitchen or like Sara at her grandmother’s restaurant (though I suspect some coaching there as well considering the hints she dropped).

These are not your typical kids but exceptional ones they want to replicate for another season. They have already started the process so one assumes they are going to renew it for next season. However the numbers for last Friday put MasterChef Junior in third place. According to tvbythenumbers it breaks down as follows. CBS Undercover boss won the hour with a 1.4, but was down 14% from last week at 1.6. Last Man Standing (ABC) was up to 1.4 from last week at 1.3. MasterChef Junior went down to 1.3 (7%). All ratings are for the 18-49 age demographic (an important one). So MasterChef Junior has stayed in the top three during its run thus far (I think it opened up at the top and has slid back and forth between first and second spot). Undercover Boss appears to outperform MasterChef Junior but Fox executives are probably pleased where it is. So far now renewal looks pretty certain.

My caution on this show is that the kids can be put under a microscope they are not used to. And it may draw unwanted attention from Internet trolls and other bad people on the Internet. I think parents out to think long and hard whether they want their kids on such shows. While everyone was mostly on their best behavior, do not be surprised if they also try to find a kid or two that will really irritate the other kids.  This is reality television and conflicts often generate great ratings. This is not a cooking show. Then again not many shows have Gordon Ramsay utter that Alexander is perhaps Julia Child’s long lost grandchild. So the homage to greats of the past are being mentioned. If this show gets another run, one hopes they will have one or two special guests.

Coming up next: The Finale between Alexander and Dara. Ought to be pretty good. And MasterChef season 4 winner Luca Manfe is also in the house.

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TV reviews

MasterChef Junior-Restaurant Kids

Kids taking over the kitchen of a restaurant to serve lunch. A recipe for disaster or more proof the producers are equating these kids to their full grown counterparts?

I was surprised that they decided to put the restaurant challenge in the junior edition. After all, this is going way out of their comfort zone. And considering most industrial kitchens are not kid friendly, one that is fraught with peril. I cannot imagine many restaurant owners opening up their kitchens due to labor, safety and liability issues to allow kids to cook for a reality show. Those concerns aside, this was a great episode if nothing else to see how these kids worked under the pressure of a restaurant.

Last weeks winners, Dara and Gavin were team leaders. Team Dara (Red Team) includes Alexander and Jack. Team Gavin(Blue Team) includes Troy and Sarah. Troy wanted to work on Dara’s team and not happy to be on Gavin’s. Troy is not happy about having Sarah on the team (she was picked last). Sarah comments that she expected to be picked last due to her age. Then she points she has been cooking for six years. That would mean she started cooking when she was two. Since this is Halloween Week, I wonder if she is a gifted child from another planet.

Meanwhile in the kitchen they learn what they are serving for lunch, which are two appetizers and two entrees. They are at Drago Centro, one of the top Italian restaurants in Los Angeles. Executive Chef Ian Gresik demonstrates the dishes they would be cooking. Too be honest, I was very nervous watching this part. These are dishes well beyond anything they have cooked before (one kid says of the appetizers that it is not a plate of salami and cheese!). It is a lot to learn in a very short time. Aside from the diners, Chef Ian will be tasting their dishes as well. With Gordon expediting, nothing will pass by that is not done right.

As is often happens though, chaos enters the kitchen as the kids all have to work together as a team. And not everyone is used to that. Fortunately Drill Sergeant Gordon Ramsay has been replaced with Ramsay model 1.0. This Ramsay is more mellow than the sergeant model, but certainly conveys anger when displeased. No foul words had to be bleeped, no utterances of “you donkey” or calling anyone Shrek (like he did to David when he put plastic bottles on top of a hot oven). Gavin though likes taunting Team Dara when his raviolis were done first. Dara seems to be less proactive as a leader at first. Troy decides to take control of Team Gavin believing he is not delegating. This causes him to push Sarah off her station and even cooking. Sarah is not happy with this treatment and even cries. Team Dara has its own problems as both Alexander and Dara are butting heads.

Despite all this and some jittery performances in the kitchen, all the dishes go out and none came back. That is a first (as noted by Gordon as well). Chef Ian was impressed with what he tasted from both teams. Each had strengths and weaknesses. Some were better on one dish than the other but was very close. Back in the kitchen, the kids are congratulated and given apple juice (Gordon calls it apple cider but over here there is virtually no difference between the two unless it has more bits of the fruit in it). The diners were astonished and clapped in approval when they saw the chefs were in fact kids. They had to have known it was a MasterChef taping but not it the junior version.

Back at MasterChef Central (aka the kitchen), judgment is rendered. We learn Team Dara won meaning Alexander, Dara, and Jack are in the top four. That leaves two in Team Gavin to be sent home. Troy is saved sending both Gavin and Sarah home. Sarah cries but Gordon tries to comfort her. She really is quite an extraordinary kid considering what she produced. And I saw some promo recently with her and Gordon cooking something on a morning show. Gordon has an eye for talent and supporting those starting out. As does Graham and Joe. Down the line some of these kids will find doors open at their places to learn how to cook professionally.

By The Numbers
According to Tvbythenumbers Undercover Boss won the hour with a 1.6 rating, down from 1.8 last week. MasterChef Junior was second with 1.4, up slightly from last week. Last Man Standing was a rerun so it drops down to fourth place and Dateline was third at 1.3.

Interesting Search Terms
People are inputing search terms in Google and other search engines (which leads them to this blog and others) and here are some of them:

are MasterChef junior actors
can the kids on masterchef junior really cook
do the kids on masterchef junior really cook
is junior masterchef real

That last one is a zinger. Is the show real? Well reality television (especially the more notorious ones) often skews what we see. Kitchen Nightmares (U.S.) heightens conflict for the show (though sometimes it does not need to like Amy’s Baking Company). While I enjoy the show, one has to remember this is entertainment. And these kids are exceptional for their age.

Shop Amazon – Kids’ Halloween Store

TV reviews

MasterChef Junior:Fish Eyes & Cakes

sardinesThe MasterChef Junior competition is moving quickly. Since they toss two at the end of each show, this season is quite short unlike the regular MasterChef which goes far longer. Now so far we have seen these kids take on some amazing challenges and come out well. As posed in my first writing about this show–Are These Kids Really Kids?–we are slowly learning about them. For instance when Gordon asks Sarah how she learned to cook, she mentions her grandmother owns a restaurant and she went there with her mother. Which means she got exposed to cooking skills at a much younger age than most girls.

It still begs a question though as to how these kids can perform at a skill level seemingly on par with MasterChef contestants. Last season we saw some phenomenal cooking from very talented individuals. Yet if we believe what is being shown, these kids are on par with Luca, Natasha, Jessie, Krissi, and Jordan of season four. Remember those chefs already have at least 18 years of amateur cooking behind them (most quite more). Becky of season three had remarkable presentation skills owing to her being a food photographer/stylist. She also was a very good cook and showed it often. MasterChef producers are trying to tell us that adults and kids can cook almost on par. In fact, it seems the mantra of this show to demonstrate that kids can have the same, if not better in some cases, cooking skills than adults. Does anyone else think there is something amiss here?

Consider the most current episode. They are given a mystery box no kid would ever want to have. You had kidneys, liver, sardines (whole with the eyes still in it), brussel sprouts, snails, blue cheese and other things. Not one kid showed any happiness with this box, especially Sarah who commented this was not like gummy bears. Oddly a whole canister of those things would appear on the balcony later. And Sarah, who normally stands on a box to let her stand above her station, was barely with her hear above it. Either she decided to do away with it or the director thought it might be cute to see how small she really is. Standing on tip-toes she barely makes her head above the station. I think the lift was brought back later so she could cook.

Perhaps the person who took the greatest risk and failed was Dara. She decided to make blue cheese souffles. No one on the show ever makes a souffle unless it is a pressure test. And some of the most hideous pressure tests have either been ones with souffles or lava cakes. It was daring, it was bold. Alas they did not set and thus did not work. Gordon did offer a tip or two on how to prevent that from happening again. Alexander decided to make toffee sticky pudding with candied fennel. Candied fennel? Not something you think about at all nor as an ingredient in sticky pudding, a very English dessert. Fortunately for Alexander, Graham loved it wishing there was more toffee pudding. Gordon said it was technically done right but did not like the fennel (no surprise there). It is good enough to put Alexander into the top three though.

Troy does a soup with snails and crisps eggplant skins. His soup is praised for keeping the snails moist. He also goes into the top three. The final person is Sarah, who made a Mediterranean style dish and deep fried the sardines in a batter. Joe loves it and even bites the head off a fish. We find out during the conversation between them she does not like clowns much (thinks they are creepy-I think the same thing about mimes). Joe thinks the others ought to be afraid of her. Gordon also loves her dish. Sarah wins the challenge and heads back to learn the elimination contest is about desserts. Joe puts up cupcakes, Graham a three layer cake, and Gordon fruit tarts. Sarah chooses the cake and hopes to eliminate Alexander and Troy. And when she heads upstairs to the balcony, there is a huge container of gummy bears awaiting her.

Sarah’s Arrows
Sarah may be eight years old but she clearly understands strategy. Alexander is not a great baker and so worries he might do poorly. He then decides to go all in overcomplicating his cake and making a critical mistake early on by confusing sugar with flour. Dara decides to make a cake to make up for her failed souffles. Gavin decides to go all chocolate. Sofia is nervous since she does not eat cake at all. Sofia does not eat cake and never made one before. Kaylen worries about how complex a cake is.Jack has smoke coming out of his mixer and Joe is concerned. Jack though is not worried. Sofia is crying because the batter came out all wrong. Gordon consoles her and then helps get her back on track. Actually this was a side of Gordon we do not see very often where he is acting like a mentor.

Gordon joins Sarah on the balcony and enjoys a gummy bear with her. He asks what her top two are which she replies are Gavin and Jack. And then she says something astonishing. She wants Jack to think they are friends and quotes the famous line ‘Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.’ Gordon is surprised to hear her say this considering what it means. It is comes from Machiavelli who advised rulers on how to keep friends and enemies in perspective. There are many variations of it but the most famous one is from Godfather II, and a clip of being said can be found here.

When you hear a little girl say this line and seems to grasp its essential meaning, it ought to make one a tad worried. It does me.

Time is up and now cakes are being judged. Alexander had problems with his first batter and had to restart it. Also his sponge came out of the oven looking pale. Sure enough they did not cook long enough, dense, but the frosting was good. Not a strikeout but a foul ball. Dara wows the judges with a magnificent cake that looked and tasted great. She used cayenne pepper in her chocolate ganache giving it a flavor Joe liked. A home run. Kaylen brings up a cake that looks like an abstract painter did a number on it. The sponge was dense and Gordon points out that layer cakes need a wow factor. And this one did not wow. A strikeout. Gavin’s all chocolate cake got rave reviews and Joe revealing an old kid’s trick for eating cake inside out. A home run as well. Jack’s vanilla and meringue buttercream was good and light but not the wow of Dara or Gavin. Valiant effort but more like an infield double. Troy’s lemon cake looks uneven due to the heavy frosting and was too sweet. A solid double as well. Sofia’s chocolate with raspberry/strawberry buttercream had the layers mashed and uneven frosting. A strikeout as well.

The bottom four are Alexander, Kaylen, Sofia and Troy. Kaylen and Sofia end up going home. Sarah had targeted Alexander and Troy and both were in the bottom. Sort of like James and Jordan in the last season of MasterChef who tended to overcomplicate their dishes. Once again confirming my belief they are trying to make these chefs on MasterChef and MasterChef Junior indistinguishable except for age and size. In doing so, MasterChef Junior may loose its charm. They are not kids, just masterful cooks trapped in small bodies being held back by age. Something is being lost here but that is a discussion perhaps for another day.

By the numbers:Friday’s ratings are in and according to TVByTheNumbers Undercover Boss won the 8:00 hour with a rating of 1.8, MasterChef scored 1.2, down 14 percent from 1.4 last week. Last Man Standing came in third at 1.3 (up 8 percent from last week).

TV reviews

MasterChef Junior: Whipping It Good

whisks
Photo: Wikipedia

There is an old Devo song called Whip It that comes to mind when you see this episode. The best way to understand this episode is that part 1 is vaudeville and part 2 is the actual competition. In part 1, the winners last week face off to make whipped cream the old fashioned way-by hand. Then we have the top 10 broken up into teams of two to cook Gordon Ramsay’s famous beef wellington. Yes, this is the same dish that bedevils many on Hell’s Kitchen (risotto being the other).

Vaudeville Act
Step up to see three Masterchef Junior winners attempt to make whipped cream. You just pour the cream into the bowl and whip it, whip it good. Nothing else to do but that. All right, ready, set go! Watch those arms go around and around those bowls. Look at all that cream going all over the place! What a mess. Little Sarah is yelling on the sidelines “C’mon Gavin! Whip it, whip it like a man!” The crowd is really getting into this as Alexander, Gavin, and Kaylen frantically stir.

Oh there is Alexander raising his whip and saying “Whipped!” The other two sadly must stop. But hold on folks, there is more to come. Yes, we are not just going to have the judges spoon up the whipped cream. The bowls will be turned upside down on the heads of the judges themselves. Here is the opportunity for you, America, to see these MasterChef judges possibly get drenched in underdone whipped cream. Alexander bravely steps up behind Graham, who has suddenly become a praying man. The bowl turns! Alexander did it right, no splatter on Graham Elliot’s head.

Gavin now raises his bowl above Joe “The Stare” Bastianich. Oh no folks, it looks like a Gavin did not get it right. My goodness,look at all that cream on Joe’s face and clothes. Joe looks very unhappy. Meanwhile Gordon awaits his fate. Will Kaylen’s whipped cream stay put or go all over the foul mouthed Brit. The bowl turns over and….

Oh dear. It seems Kaylen did not do very well at all. It is nearly all cream coming out covering Gordon causing him to utter a very rude word! Fortunately he recovers with saying sugar repeatedly. Alexander, possibly on cue from the director, taps his bowl on Graham’s head. Food fight! When it is all over, the judges retire to clean themselves up and a clean up crew must come in to remove the mess and set up for the next challenge.

Beef Wellington
Photo: Wikipedia

The Great Beef Wellington Challenge
Having won the challenge, Alexander gets to pick the 5 teams that will cook in the next challenge. And that challenge is to recreate Gordon Ramsay’s signature dish: Beef Wellington. Dispense with the easy stuff and go right to the toughest thing to do. So many things to be done right, so many ingredients. Done well, a work of culinary art. Done badly it is a disaster. The ghost of Lord Wellington (hero of the Peninsular War against Napoleon) is probably watching to see if his namesake food can be done right.

Ah but there is of course a catch. They are cooking in teams but it is a tag-team cooking challenge. One person cooking, the other standing outside yelling tips or getting upset. So many ways it can can go wrong. They get to taste a proper Beef Wellington so they know the flavor profile. The question is can these kids accomplish what so many find hard to do and get right (especially on Hell’s Kitchen)? All the ingredients needed are provided for so they do not need to spend any time in the pantry. With that, the clock starts ticking down and the kids all start working feverishly.

Alexander & Troy produced a Wellington worthy of Gordon Ramsay.  A home run.
Sarah & Dara produce one just as good, possibly better than Alexander and Troy. Sarah had a frightening moment when taking the pan out of the oven when she dropped the pan on the floor. Fortunately it did not effect the Beef Wellington. A home run as well. Joe did make a comment about back of the house that people do not see. The health inspectors probably are on their way to his restaurant after what he said (in jest, we assume).
Kaylen & Jack had some problems with the puffed pastry. The broccolini overcooked and the beef did as well since the mushrooms were not there to provide moisture. A foul ball but just short of a complete out.
Sofia & Gavin did a good job, though not quite as good as the top two. The puff pastry could have been thinner but the flavors are all correct. A double.
Jewels & Roen have serious problems with the dish. While Jewels says she went light on the salt, it turns out to be very salty due to the mustard not being put on right after searing the steak. It ends up making it more salty. Gordon is very disappointed. A strikeout to be sure.

So the bottom two are Kaylen & Jack, Jewels & Roen. There is a rule on these food shows (see my rules here) that if you over salt the dish, odds are you are going home. And that is what happened to Jewels & Roen.

My thoughts
Not a bad episode. I did think they overdid it on the whipped cream part. They ought to have let the other two finish before they tested the results. Having them do the testing on the judge’s heads was interesting but went a bit too far in my book. The Beef Wellington task really showed both strengths and weaknesses. It also has raised questions on the Internet was to whether these kids are actors, being coached, or the real thing. We know on Hell’s Kitchen they put people on just to fill space and to cause friction. Did that happen here? There is no evidence of that but it is right to ask how these kids can produce pretty good renditions of a difficult dish they have (we presume) never done before. So I have to keep the skeptic hat on. I am not totally convinced these kids are true amateurs but they are not pros either since they do make mistakes.

The most recent numbers provided by TV By The Numbers show this last episode(11 Oct 2013) got just enough winners to beat out ABC’s Last Man Standing and CBS Undercover Boss. It was actually close in terms of ratings points:

FOX     MasterChef Jr         1.4     5     3.78
CBS     Undercover Boss     1.3     5     7.82
ABC     Last Man Standing    1.2     5     5.86

That last number on the right shows how many millions watched live and watched the same day on their Tivo or other dvrs. Which means, if the numbers are right, more people watched MasterChef Junior live than the others. I happen to be one of those people. I record Last Man Standing and watch it usually after MasterChef (I actually record both but watch MasterChef live). Undercover Boss had more viewers when you include in those who recorded and watched later but loses when you remove that factor and only include those who watched live.

A Sad Note About Josh Marks
As I finished writing this, news came that Josh Marks of MasterChef season 3 (who left and then came back ending up facing Christine Ha in the finale) had been found dead. And it appears he took his own life. This is a very sad outcome of someone so talented and destined, I think, for a long career in the food business. He apparently suffered from a bi-polar disorder which likely caused an incident that led to his arrest over the summer. He was undergoing required medical evaluations. This sad outcome is no doubt devastating to his family and friends. My heart, condolences, and prayers are with them in this time of sorrow. He was a good fellow who had a good heart. RIP Josh Marks.

TV reviews

Are Parents Bad For Letting Kids On Reality TV?

tv cameramanScott Pierce, who covers television for Salt Lake Tribune, criticized MasterChef Junior for using kids. And he warns that using kids in this manner opens them up to being attacked on the Internet. Pierce writes:

It’s a lock that the child contestants on “MasterChef Junior” are going to be subjected to hateful comments if not outright bullying by Internet trolls. And no parents should ever allow their child to put himself or herself in that position. Does it always go horribly wrong? No. But what good parent would take that risk?

His conclusion is that kids do not belong on reality shows. These shows, he argues, puts a lot of pressure on them and even if the show starts out benign, train wrecks can occur.

Given the nature of these competitions, it is usually the case that we see some unpleasant character traits emerge as time goes on. And we also know that reality television skewers what we see through skillful editing and manipulation of the events. MasterChef is no different in that regard. Pierce’s concern (and I share it as well) is that we could see something of the same but with kids. If you have worked with kids, you know some can be brutal at times (not physically but with words). In this case young kids are being asked to produce restaurant quality food to be judged by a trio of judges who, in the normal course of the regular show, really verbally sting those who bring up poor quality food. They tone it down for this show, which I applaud, but it is still a competition and each week two will go home (they have a rule that each night’s competition will end with two leaving).

Even so, kids are going to get hurt when their food sucks or they are told to leave the competition. There is simply no way to sugar coat that bad news. Pierce does have it right: Internet trolls are going to make hay with some of these kids. I doubt parents thought about it deeply but they ought to have. Having seen what these trolls can do, it can really hurt a kid to see themselves targeted on the Internet. And it is possible that some of those cute faces have a nasty side to them as well.

For Fox, getting people to watch is not easy considering what it is up against at 8 p.m. ABC has Last Man Standing, which handily beat out MasterChef Junior in the first half hour last week. And then over at CBS is Undercover Boss (a full hour) which also beat out MasterChef Junior. Now again the believability quotient comes into play. Which is more believable: a show that has the top officer of a company going undercover to see how things operate or a show that has 8-13 year old kids trying to cook restaurant quality food?

Source: Only bad parents let kids go on reality TV(27 Sep 2013, Salt Lake Tribune)

TV reviews

MasterChef Junior:Phone Home and Gourmet Burgers

Hamburger
Photo: Wikipedia

Having survived the initial trials, the top twelve junior chefs arrive at the kitchen to face their first mystery box. Last week I wondered whether these kids are kids owing to the quality of the cooking shown. Keep that in mind about this show. Perhaps, as some suggest in jest, they are actually Hogwarts students on vacation. Now one funny thing to remember is that many of these kids are too short when they stand at their cooking stations. So they stand on platforms that give them the needed height. Even with that, some of the shorter ones had some difficulty raising the mystery box. When asked what they do would do with $100,000 prize money, most thought about gifts and parties. Only Alexander would use it for culinary school.

Mystery Box
Fortunately the mystery box did not have anything like offal or a pigs head. Perhaps they are saving that for a Halloween themed episode. It did however have filet mignon, tiger shrimp, mixed berries, blue cheese (which Sara said stank like feet), arugula, potatoes, and assorted vegetables. So right away they are giving them high value ingredients to see what they make of it. They also had an advantage no one else had before: the ability to use a tablet to call home or a friend for advice. Skype got some good product placement out of this show. And not a mention of Walmart at all (which I think supplies groceries for this show as well.)

As the camera followed the junior chefs, we saw them busy at work as if they had done this all before. Pretty amazing to watch these kids tackle these ingredients. In the end the three that were brought up for judging were:

Alexander (filet mignon with garlic mashed potatoes, carrots and salad)
The chefs all loved this dish which had the right sear on the meat, delicious mashed potatoes, and carrots. One small complaint Gordon noted was that salad does not go under the meat. Alexander showed real talent here. Graham sees himself in Alexander and notes he has more talent then he did at his age. In short, a triple (using a baseball metaphor here).

Jack (surf & turf)
He was one of the few that incorporated the shrimp into his dish. Another great dish as the chefs all had compliments about its quality and presentation. Graham used a carpenter metaphor to say he nailed the dish. I would say a grand slam. But do not say “bam” too much Graham. I think another celebrity chef may have trademarked its use. 🙂

Troy (filet mignon with poached egg and root vegetable hash)
Once again compliments all around. Joe really liked it noting the intense flavor with bay leaves. Gordon would have preferred the steak medium rare rather than medium. Triple.

Jack wins the round and heads back to find out his amazing advantage. First off, he is spared elimination. Then he will decide what food his fellow junior chefs will cook. And this is where we take a trip back in time since it is our masterchefs favorite foods when they were a kid. Each one holds up a photo of them around 8 years old or so. For Joe, it was not a pasta or pizza dish but chicken wings. Who knew! Graham holds up his picture and it is hard to recognize him. Back then little kid now a Michelin star chef with tattoos, a hairstyle from an old cartoon strip, and funky glasses. Jack does not see the resemblance. For Graham, his favorite was the hamburger. Gordon looks much younger without wrinkles and it turns out he liked fish fingers (fish sticks in America).

Now for some strategy. Chicken wings are not hard to do but you have to know how to prep them. There are lots of easy combinations here but the wrong sauce, a badly made one, or mangled wings could send someone home. Fish sticks require to use fish meat coated in a batter and deep fried. Lots of ways to go here and easy to screw up (like what our favorite vegetarian did with calamari in MasterChef). And then the humble hamburger. Easy to make but easy to over complicate as well. Jack chooses hamburger but of course these are not going to be two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese and pickle on a sesame seed bun. Nope, these are going to be Gourmet Burgers.

Gourmet Burgers Challenge
After the mad scramble in the pantry, we see Gavin working on an Italian style burger, Kaylen on one that incorporates many flavors, Alexander is working on beef sliders. Joe tells Alexander that Jack is targeting him. Alexander is totally unafraid and says he has it all working together. And then tells Joe to step back while he dumps kale into frying pan (which immediately sounds explosive and Joe flinches). Molly tries a Korean themed burger with kimchee, rice, soy sauce, and rice cakes. Gordon asks if that sounds good to her. That sound you hear is the gong of doom being heard and her face reveals she is nervous. Tommy is making a breakfast burger with American cheese, an egg, and sweet potato. Gordon is concerned about using that kind of cheese inside a burger. Most chefs would use a good cheddar or other cheese that melts since American cheese needs more help to melt.

Those that really stretched flavors using beef or pork fared much better than those using lamb or turkey. Gavin, Alexander and Kaylen are chosen as the best for their flavors and presentation. Really it was quite amazing especially with Alexander. No doubt about it, this kid is destined to become a great chef one day. Sadly though this is an elimination so three have to be called up and two are going to be sent home. Jewels had a dry lamb dish. Both Tommy and Molly both tackled turkey that came out dry. Molly’s Korean themed burger was sadly a mess in terms of flavors. And Tommy’s breakfast burger was dry and the American cheese did not melt enough in the middle to give it any moisture. Joe observes at one point when tasting that he never has had a good turkey burger. I would have to agree. In most places they slab on lots of toppings to obscure its dryness. The same is done in cheap burger joints to hide the fact they quick cooked the beef by mashing it down (and oddly end up being praised by a ninny on Food Network for it) and then covering it up with gooey cheese and sauces.

Jewels survives but Tommy and Molly go home. It was sad to see and they were comforted by their fellow junior chefs. Joe mentions earlier that sometimes we have this idea in our heads but when we put it on the plate it does not match. Unfortunately on MasterChef you only get one chance and if you blow it, out the door you go.

Final Thoughts
These kids are remarkable. They are able to put out dishes that rival those seen on regular MasterChef. And that is a problem for this show. We have to believe that kids who have not yet graduated from high school are able to produce masterful dishes that get praised by the judges as restaurant quality. I suspect many are going to find that difficult to believe. Sure it is possible to get food training in their home kitchen. As a kid I knew families where cooking was very important and everyone was involved in the activity. You pick up quickly lots of knowledge this way (like Joe did with his mother Lidia) and learn a lot of techniques. Or your family is serious foodies that like to cook. Your apt to pick up a lot that way along with watching lots of food television programs.

At the same time, I suspect a lot of viewers will wonder if they are being tricked. They display skills that seem beyond what most kids have at that age. And that may end up losing viewers who wonder if the kids are being used or manipulated by reality television. They might very well be the most talented young chefs in America today but one wonders whether it is a one time thing or a trend that kids are learning to cook so well at a young age when most kids have to deal with doing their homework.

Postscript: The numbers are out and there was a dip in viewers watching MasterChef Junior. ABC won the night and Last Man Standing (half-hour show at 8:00 p.m., same time as MasterChef Junior) got more people watching. (6 million compared to MasterChef at just under 4 million). MasterChef was third in the first half-hour behind Last Man Standing (ABC) and Undercover Boss (CBS/full hour/7 million viewers). MasterChef 18-49 rating (the top demographic they target) dropped to 1.3 (last week 1.6).

Next week: Can the kids recreate Gordon’s famous Beef Wellington?

TV reviews

Down Memory Lane: The Lone Ranger

Lone Ranger & Silver
Photo: Wikipedia

When I was a little kid and we came home from school, we turned on the television to watch our two favorites shows: The Lone Ranger and Superman. Batman too (the television series starring Adam West). Over the years I have never lost my affection for the Ranger show. And recently when Cozi, an over the air broadcast station, began operating in the San Francisco Bay Area, it began showing The Lone Ranger along with a lot of older classic television shows. And amazingly that show still holds an appeal today and many can easily identify its distinctive musical theme.

The Lone Ranger originated as a popular radio show that successfully made the transition to television. It ran from 1949-1957 on ABC and was one of the most watched shows on the network. For most of the series, Clayton Moore played the titular character while Jay Silverheels played Tonto. However due to dispute either over wages (the studio claim) or creative differences (Moore’s claim), John Hart played the role from 1952-1953(52 episodes). However Hart was never accepted by fans and Moore was brought back. He stayed with the series till its end. Two theatrical movies were produced with this cast: The Lone Ranger (1956) and The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold (1958).

The show followed the basic story of the radio version. A group of Texas Rangers is pursuing the Cavindish Gang when they are betrayed by their guide, ambushed, and left for dead. Tonto comes along and finds one still alive. Tonto recognizes him from his childhood and nurses him back to health. In the radio version his name is John Reid though on television it is not mentioned (except by last name by an old friend who mines the silver) although the fake grave marker does list a name. Since his brother was killed in the ambush, he decides to track down the gang and bring them to justice. However he decides to hide his face so that no one knows he is alive (and presumably to protect family and friends who know him). Tonto accompanies him on his mission calling him Kemo Sabe. He acquires a white horse named Silver and uses silver bullets as his unique calling card. After tracking down the Cavindish Gang and its leader, he continues the mission to track and capture outlaws to make the West safe for people to settle and live in.

Since he is masked all the time, the Ranger often runs into many who doubt him at first. However because his actions are always on the side of the law (even when using a disguise) he ultimately wins their trust. Unlike a vigilante who might track down and impose arbitrary punishment, the Ranger preferred capturing criminals and turning them over to the law for punishment. It would be foolish to mistake this as softness. The Ranger was a crack shot who shot to disarm first, kill only as a last resort. Sometimes the criminal might do something that led to their death. Often characters did die on the show, sometimes killed by the outlaw. Criminals came in all varieties from rustlers, gangs that robbed banks or swindlers, or sometimes clever gangs run by lawyers, ranchers, or important townspeople. The Ranger often helped unmask or uncover the true conspirators behind the schemes.

Tonto, his faithful companion, provided important support. An expert tracker, he could also go into towns and learn things as people would rarely suspect him of anything (though he did face hostility at times). He aided the Ranger in apprehending the criminals, sometimes getting captured before revealing important information to Kemo Sabe. The Ranger trusted Tonto implicitly and never questioned his judgment. Sometimes he often pointed out things that Ranger did not know. Occasionally his nephew Dan Reid would join them for a while (usually between college;this was also part of the radio series as well).

Music for both the radio and television versions came from classical sources. The famous Lone Ranger theme comes from the finale of Gioachino Rossini’s opera Guillaume Tell (William Tell). The theme would become so associated with Lone Ranger that mentioning the show invariably makes one think of that music. In many ways a tribute to Rossini. If you pay attention, you sometimes hear other classical themes as well like Ride of the Valkyries by Richard Wagner.

The Lone Ranger and Tonto operated on a strict moral code. They fought on the side of justice to help people and the country, in particularly the West, find peace. They never accepted any gifts, gratuities, or awards for their works. Being thanked and knowing the criminals were behind bars was their reward. If there was reward money for a capture, they turned it over to someone else or donated it to a cause. And then they left to continue their mission. Aside from a moral code, The Lone Ranger had a specific code of conduct. They included:

The Lone Ranger would never be unmasked except by disguise;
That he would use logic to prevent capture or held hostage for any length of time;
That he never shot to kill but disarm;
That he always spoke proper English and never used slang;
That villains and criminals are never shown in any positive light, never shown to be glamorous or successful;
The Lone Ranger never drinks or smokes (on television they made sure what obviously would be saloons and bartenders were shown as cafes that served food).

When the series ended, both Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels would spend (aside from acting) time in numerous public appearances, guest spots on shows, and commercials. And he would always appear as The Lone Ranger (and would never drink or smoke in public either). But in 1979 Jack Wrather, who owned the Ranger character, decided to make a new film version. It began a sad spectacle of having to force Clayton Moore to stop wearing the mask because it would undercut the value of the new version. And also they did not want people confused that Moore, then 65, would be getting back in the saddle again. Wrather obtained a court order that forced Moore to take off the mask, which he did, and then wore a brand of wrap-around sunglasses that nearly gave the same effect.

For many who watched the old show, Clayton Moore was The Lone Ranger. No substitutes needed! His star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame reads Clayton Moore–The Lone Ranger, which indicates how identified with the character he had become. The 1981 movie, The Legend of the Lone Ranger, was a complete bust at the box office. It is a terrible movie and the lead actor is totally forgotten now. You can look up the details and IMDB. Clayton Moore countersued Wrather and ultimately won allowing him to put the mask back on. Moore continued to do public appearances and even was associated with the baseball team Texas Rangers. Moore passed away in 1999 from a heart attack. Jay Silverheels passed away in 1979.

Attempts at reviving the Ranger franchise have not been promising. The 1981 movie was a flop, an attempted WB show got such negative reviews it never went into development. The most recent Ranger movie, The Lone Ranger (2013) with Johnny Depp as Tonto and Armie Hammer as Ranger also failed at the box office. It generated mostly negative reviews from critics and movie goers. Metacritic.com gave it an overall rating of 37 out of 100 based on critic and user reviews.

So what has gone wrong? A combination of things from poor scripts to rebranding The Lone Ranger into something different from the original series. If you remake a series, and make it totally different from a previous version you have to make it both hearken back and yet be something different. You can reimagine like what was done with Battlestar Galactica and create wholly different series that was successful. Star Trek took a darker tone with Deep Space Nine. It was a very different show than other Trek shows yet managed to fit in the Trek universe. Sometimes though it just does not work out. They tried Buck Rogers (based on a successful comic and movie series) and it was marginally okay until they totally rebranded in the second season (and then was quickly cancelled). Zorro returned as a successful series in 1990 (following the basic story from books and the previous Disney series) and did well. In that case, the writers kept the essential story and updated it with different actors.

Perhaps it is The Lone Ranger was something that really needs little updating in terms of its basic premise. Sure you can make movies that flesh out more of the character or better portray his take down of the Cavindish gang, fooling around with the basic premise and mashing up who both Ranger and Tonto were tends to turn people off. They want to see the Ranger do what he does best: track down criminals to restore law and order to the old West. He was not someone conflicted about who he was or having to use a gun. He was about supporting the law, not acting as a vigilante. The show was not afraid to show that bad men do bad things (like killing people) and it did not glamorize them either. There was a clear distinction between good and bad people. And yet sometimes a bad person in the past could also become a good one in the present, something the Ranger believed in (and showed on numerous occasions). The Ranger was an optimist who believed what the country stood for and that good people could stand up against bad people and win. It might not be easy, and sometimes came at a price, but in the end the bad guy was brought to heel.

Hi-yo Silver! Away!

TV reviews

MasterChef Junior: Are These Kids Really Kids?

Update 28 Sep: The Friday television ratings are out.TV By The Numbers at zap2it.com reports the premiere of MasterChef Junior was number 1 at the 8:00 p.m. hour beating out the premiere of Undercover Boss, Last Man Standing (a show I liked until they fiddled with it and changed a cast member), Michael J. Fox Show, and Perfect Score.
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When I heard they were considering a kids version of MasterChef, I cringed. The success record of shows that try a junior version is not pretty. American Idol tried it and never did it again. We saw parents acting like divas, kids trying to be divas, and the American Idol judges trying to be serious about judging young children singing the hits. It was a mess. And The Amazing Race tried a family-friendly season. Except it turned out those families could be just as competitive and sometimes just as nasty as some in the regular season. And so it it appears MasterChef’s turn to go the kid route. I ask myself why. Like Del Shannon’s Runaway, I keep hearing why, why, why in my head.

From what I learned before the first episode aired, it was clear they were going to hold these kids to the same standards of the regular MasterChef. Which means these kids really have to know how to cook. This is not opening a can or using a box mix to make a cake here folks. Safety wise it means a full brigade of medics are right there to watch those kids should they cut themselves. And the judges, while mostly the same as in the regular series, have to hold back on the nastiness they might throw out in the regular show when something nasty is put in front of them.

Fortunately most of the kids presentations in this preliminary round were all good with some surprising exceptional cooking. It made me realize that some of these kids are learning to cook very young considering the techniques we saw. One kid brought up an exceptional looking sushi dish that a trained sushi chef would nod approvingly at. Perhaps this demonstrates a major shift in our culture where so many kids are interested in cooking food as a possible career choice. The Food Network and other places have made chefs and cooking more popular. Actually it is good thing kids learn to cook food. It is something that will carry with them all their lives and possibly pass on to their children.

MasterChef Junior is not a cooking school but a real competition. And it looks like the judges–Joe Bastianich, Graham Elliot, Gordon Ramsay–are going to demand high standards from these kids. They might not use the nasty looks or comments they would use with adults, they will still have to tell them when a dish is unacceptable. Or send a kid home when they are on the bottom. I did wonder when they were judging the dishes whether they were being totally honest at times. Then again when a dish did not quite meet expectations they did tell them what was wrong with it. They seemed very surprised by the quality of the dishes prepared.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out over the entire season. Right now I am still not entirely convinced this was wise or needed by MasterChef. Clearly they must have done some research and found a market for this show. However judging from what I saw in the season opener, it looks promising.