First of all, I should say that I've never really understood the appeal of most reality shows. When I watch TV (which I still do more than I should), I want to see interesting characters in interesting theatrical situations--ordinary people behaving badly, or childishly, or bawdily in very short-term life situations (usually way too contrived for comfort) does not appeal.
But I have enjoyed Bravo's Top Chef very much. I found myself emotionally invested in Season 1's characters. I liked Harold very much--I thought that I would rather see him win than anyone else. And I was quick to side with Dave against Stephen or Tiffani. For instance, I thought the judges should have eliminated Tiffani because the Cirque de Soleil liked Dave's food much more than they did Tiffani's. But she stayed because I think Tom Colicchio was biased in favor of Tiffani in Season 1 (just as he also seemed in favor of Cliff in Season 2). Naturally, it was much more of a dramatic finish to have Harold defeat Tiffani rather than Dave--I mean, how could anyone be happy to see Dave lose?
I soon came to feel that Bravo shamelessly manipulated my experience of these characters just so they could create these over-the-top pseudo-dramatic moments. So I tried, in Season 2, not to have any favorites--but I couldn't keep it up for long. First, I was mainly rooting for Ilan and I thought Marcel was an arrogant snot. (I also really liked Carlos and was sad to see him leave so early.) But then when Betty started taking cheap shots at Ilan whenever it suited her to do so, I began to root for Marcel. And the more everyone else hated him, the more I rooted for him. It wasn't necessarily that I thought Marcel was the best chef on the show--I don't know enough about gourmet cooking to answer that question--but rather that I thought he was picked on with a severity disproportionate to whatever unpleasant behavior he showed. After Ilan made his cruel joke about Marcel's sexual knowledge, I couldn't take any pleasure in seeing him win. And I still can't. So Season 2 ended and I felt, once more, that Bravo had successfully manipulated me.
In Season 3--so far, at least--I've managed to like everyone on the show. In the Season 1 vs. Season 2 smackdown (where we first met Season 3's contestants), I came to really enjoy Stephen and Tiffani. They seem very serious and passionate about what they're doing; they have something to say and I like the fact that they really believe in themselves. And I'm really enjoying Hung in Season 3's cast--I know we're supposed to hate him, but I think he's funny and very serious about his work. In fact, each one of the Season 3 chefs are different and very interesting, and I find myself wishing they could all stay for the whole series and have the final battle be between the two chefs who were consistently the best each week. But I guess that would be too expensive, and it would be harder for the Bravo people to manipulate the situations and interview dialogue so that we will be made to like one person or another.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
What happened to your blog?
I finally added a new entry. Thanks for reading. :)
I didn't start in on Top Chef until Season 4. I was delighted to see Stephanie win, although Richard would've been fine, too. I found it interesting that the chefs were afraid of being teamed with Antonia, a fact not revealed until the end of the season.
Season 5 was a heartbreaker, particularly with Carla's spine absent in the last episode.
Post a Comment