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October 18, 2006: The Liver Was Like, "Hello, I'm a Liver."
I was kind of depressed after finding out who won Project Runway, so right about now I really wish I had some of Mia's Southern fried comfort food to keep me company. Aside from that, it's such a good thing that Top Chef is back for Season 2. A new host, new parameters for our man Tom Callichio and Season 1 winner Harold all made for a good episode. Not quite sure if I'm going to dig these finalists as much as I enjoyed last season's dysfunctional group, but I'm willing to reserve judgment and make that call at a later date.
Topics of discussion:
-Is Marcel the new Stephen?
-What do you think of Padma?
Right off the bat, it seems like Marcel has that arrogant, cocky thing going for him. He doesn't have that upturned nose and "does something smell" expression on his face that was just so Stephen, but he's already seeing himself as the resident threat. Give him a little time and he'll be lecturing everyone on the benefits of being a sommelier and the origins of the turnip. By the way, during Season 1, I wasn't a big fan of Stephen's, but I grew to love him. I think it was because of that reunion episode!
As for Padma: I say, Mrs. Joel who? Sorry, I just really thought Padma brought some life to the festivities, not to mention the fact that she's drop-dead gorgeous. Tom's ditched the mentor duties, I think. I say "I think" because even though he's now strictly the head judge, he still seems like he's trying to do a little mentoring. Bringing back Harold as guest judge was very cool. He looked a little bit nervous, but he contributed to the conversation and the critiques.
Let's talk about the contestants. Apparently, there's no one in the Midwest suitable enough to compete for the title of Top Chef. Everyone worked in New York, California or Las Vegas, with only Carlos branching out and doing his chef thing in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. What's up with that? So far, Mia, Betty, Frank, Ilan and Emily (along with that constant sour look on her face) are impressing me. However, I'm sure my assessment will change every week. We got our first drunken finalist (Michael); our first crash and burn (Suyai); and that Marisa girl. It's Episode 1 and already she's yakking about how she will use her sexuality to her advantage. Boo. Save that for The Bachelor or Hell's Kitchen. We don't need that on Top Chef; you just need to be able to cook. We also get the first declaration of not being here to make friends, but being here for the food (Marcel). I'm sure we'll get the "I'm not here to make friends, I'm here to win" variation next week.
Quickfire challenge (winner gets immunity): Create a flambé dish
Winner: Sam.
Marcel's banana and avocado concoction intrigued me and it was unfortunate that Suyai didn't know how to flambé. Lesson of the day: It's difficult to flambé using red wine. Sucks to be Elia.
Elimination challenge: Use mysterious box ingredients and make some meals
Winner: Ilan
Did you guys think that the orange team had it out for Marcel? I think he deserved it just a little bit, but probably not enough to land him in the bottom four. Poor Suyai. Just like Tom said, she didn't seem ready to be in this competition. In the quickfire challenge, she didn't know how to flambé, and then she exhibited some confidence issues that crushed her chances to move ahead. She was the logical one to go, but I have to admit that I liked her and really wanted to see her back for one more week. I was actually pulling for Carlos to go home, on the other hand. He was all about his four-star this and that; I can't believe he whipped up some sort of potato pancake covered in Velveeta (that's what it looked like). He's lucky that Suyai ruined her chances by admitting to defeat when Tom came around to assess everyone during the challenge.
Some other thoughts:
— I have a feeling that every other word out of drunk Mike's mouth is going to be "killer." For some reason, he reminds me of Larry Joe Campbell from ABC's According to Jim.
— You think they'll bring Tiffani back at all?
— I loved Elia going off on the American cheese.
— Loved the Season 2 preview. Again, don't know if I'm going to like this cast as much as last season's. I mean, I don't think we're going to get anyone to give us something like emotional Dave did. How classic was it when he uttered: "I'm not your bitch, bitch." That was one of my all-time favorite lines. But, it looks like things are going to get interesting with the new cast, so I'm looking forward to the coming weeks. Hope you are, too.
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Oct 19, 2006 7:18 AM
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I think there are WAY too many Stephens this season. And that dark-haired lady, the attempt at a new Tiffany? Not even close.
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Oct 19, 2006 7:44 AM
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Is it just me or does Marcel's hair remind you of Hugh Jackman's Wolverine? And not in a good way...
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Oct 19, 2006 11:04 AM
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haha. I was coming to post about his hair too. Except it reminded me of jim carrey as ace ventura.
I didn't watch the first season, so can't comment about anyhting, really.
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Oct 19, 2006 12:10 PM
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I'm glad Top Chef is back...except that it still keeps me up so late! I liked Suyai, but she just threw in the towel way too early. Even though these people are mostly experienced in the kitchen in one way or another, did they really enjoy eating snails and frogs?? Ick! I think the team with the snails had it easier than those with the frog legs. Their combination of ingredients seemed easier to work with and more common (sans the cheese) in a nice restaurant. Jury is still out about Padma, but I'm sure she'll grow on me.
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Oct 19, 2006 12:31 PM
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I definitely think that Padma is ten times better than Mrs. Joel. I have to say though that I think the dialogue they write for her is too stiff. She infuses what she can into the lines but I think they need to step it up with writing for her.
I loved that Harold was the guest judge. I wonder if we will see Tiffany. I think it's great that Leeann has a presence on the website.
By the way, I thought that Marcel's hair reminded me of Wolverine too! LOL
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Oct 19, 2006 1:42 PM
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duplicate post.
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Oct 19, 2006 1:44 PM
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Happy to have Top Chef back, but so far I'm not loving the cast. There were so many characters the first season, this year everyone seems a little mean. I too loved Stephen after the reunion show! His attitude bothered me, but I thought his dishes at least were always pretty and creative. I had Harold as my favorite to win from episode 1 last season. This time around, I don't know who I pick. Sam is my favorite so far, but only because I think he's cute 
Did anyone else have a problem with the music in the episode. I actually had to figure out how to turn closed captions on just to understand what they were saying. The music drowned them out so much. I've never had that problem before, it was really aggravating.
As for Padma, I didn't like her. Really I think they could just lose the host all together and just have Tom tell them what the challenge is. I just love Tom, so the more they show of him the better!
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Oct 20, 2006 9:26 AM
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Season 2 of this kind of show is so much more difficult after a great first season. So much of our enjoyment of the show is based on the contestants. When it comes back in Season 2, the contestants are different and we haven't had a chance to get to know them. I had this same experience with Season 2 of Project Runway, wondering if the contestants were as good, interesting, not feeling connected to anyone, etc... I have say, I don't envy the producers that have to put together the slate of contestants. I'm confident that I'll come to love, love to hate and root for these contestants in a way that honors them without comparing them to their predecessors.
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Oct 21, 2006 10:41 AM
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I think season 2 of most reality shows is one of the most difficult ones - you have all these people coming in after having watched only the first season, each thinking they need to, in some way, outdo the original cast. Plus, they all want to hog the camera. By the 3rd season, things have calmed down a bit. So it seems to be going with Top Chef. This cast just seem to be trying a bit too hard to be "characters" instead of people.
That said, I really hate Marcel already. That hair is AWFUL, and his attitude isn't much better. I like Emily ok, and Mia seems cool. Otto ... ugh. Not sure what else to say about him - just ugh. I really hope he goes soon.
Other than that, I've not picked up on much from the other cast members - there are so MANY this time!
I REALLY like Padma - from what I've read about her, she actually has a clue about foodie-type stuff, and she has an actual personality, something Mrs. Joel was missing. I also find it interesting that she apparently refuses to cover the scar on her arm, and that even when modeling, she does NOT want it airbrushed out. It says to me that she's someone who isn't going to pushed into doing something she doesn't believe in, so hopefully that'll be true in her judging as well.
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Oct 23, 2006 4:07 PM
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