Hell’s Kitchen: Day 14
“My goal tonight is to make Chef Ramsay second guess the fact that he got rid of me.” - Jen
Oh Jen, just when we had started to forget you, you come back with the nasty attitude and the chip on your shoulder. Like Mary Tyler Moore, you can turn the world on with your smile.
This is part one of the finale, where final contestants Petrozza and Christina design their restaurants and have to complete a service with some of the eliminated contestants. The returning players are Jen, Louross, Bobby, Corey, Matt, and Ben. Not sure why these contestants are the ones who return, other than they’re the most controversial. They’re not all the most recent rejects, because Roseann would be in the mix if that was the case and not Ben.
I have mixed feelings about these contestants coming back, which I’ll explain after the jump.
I really like it when Hell’s Kitchen gets down to the nitty gritty of two contestants. Finally, the backstabbing and soap opera stuff is gone and we can focus on the two last chefs and their plans for their own restaurants, and there’s just a sense that there’s more breathing room without all of the other players getting in the way. Aside from some comments by Christina about Petrozza having to push his fireplace wall into her space a little bit and her hatred of the stripes that the designer put on her walls (even though she said she liked the stripes and picked them herself), this episode didn’t have any of the nastiness of the other episodes. But that will change next week when the service begins and we have to deal with Jen’s attitude, conflicting personalities, and whatever Matt might do. I kinda wish they didn’t bring back any of the other contestants and just have the final two go up against each other, somehow, some way.
Still not sure why Whoopi Goldberg showed up for 12 seconds and then vanished forever (she didn’t even have a hand in who won the challenge). Unless she comes back for the finale next week, it was like trying to find Alfred Hitchcock’s cameo in one of his movies. I also don’t get Petrozza’s near-orgasmic “Oh my Gahd…Oh my Gahd…Oh my Gahd…” when Whoopi appeared.
Petrozza wins the challenge, by the way, chosen by the five executive chefs from his other restaurants. It comes down to the final chef (of course it does), but in the end Petrozza’s filet mignon with onions and risotto is chosen over Christina’s New York strip steak with succotash and potatoes.
So the finale next week will have the players helping Petrozza and Christina win, but before that, a few observations.
- I think Ramsay’s “I’m wondering if I have the right finalists” trick is manipulative. Not just to Petrozza and Christina but to the audience as well. They pushed it in the coming attractions last week, and for a split second I agreed with Christina when she said she thought they were going to bring back another contestant to compete again.
- The 10 minute season recap at the start is so rapid-fire that I doubt anyone who missed an episode or two would know what the heck happened. And it just proves that the BS stuff like the hot tub and shopping trips are a really boring part of the show. Though it was fantastic to relive Petrozza’s “Hen in a Pumpkin” signature dish from the first episode. Good to see his signature dish changed so drastically in this ep.
- What’s up with the big spectacle in Times Square? You could see hundreds of New Yorkers watching Ramsay, Petrozza, and Christina film the scene in the middle of Times Square, then a giant congrats to the two contestants was flashed on the big screen (though it’s hard to say if that was superimposed later). How did this bit of information about who these contestants were - at least maybe some pics - get out weeks ago? Or did it and I just haven’t heard about it?
- All of the flowers that Petrozza wants in his restaurant? That really worries me.
Amy Ryan keeps her Office job
In last season’s finale of The Office, sparks flew between Michael Scott and Toby’s HR replacement Holly. Amy Ryan, seen for four seasons on The Wire, brought a new dynamic to the show as Holly with her interactions with Steve Carell’s Michael. “Amy gave the character of Holly an openness and matured innocence that exposed a new side of Michael,” said Paul Lieberstein, who played Toby and was recently promoted to executive producer on the show. “She placed her character right on his level.”
All I can say is bring on more Holly and congratulations to Toby! I guess since Lieberstein will still be so involved with the show, there’s always a chance of more Toby in the future, but the beautiful Ryan will add a new dynamic to the series. While Amy Ryan’s currently only set for five or so episodes, I hope they can expand that if it works. Now that Pam is back off the market and Karen’s gone, Holly represents a new amorous target for the boys of the office. And having her be the HR rep at the same time makes it all the more taboo to pursue. Which means Michael will be all over it like Dwight on Second Life.
News regarding this season’s Doctor Who finale
Usually we here at TV try not to post news when we don’t have an online article as reference (except perhaps in the Spoilers Anonymous columns), but this is one I couldn’t pass up. Plus, it will give Doctor Who fans a head’s up with regards to this season’s finale.
According to Doctor Who Magazine (and repeated on several Doctor Who message boards online), the finale of Season Four (”Journey’s End”) is going to be 65 minutes in length, as opposed to the usual 45 or 50 minute length of the season’s episodes so far. This length, of course, deals with the original broadcast on the BBC and not the American broadcast.
The question is: when it airs eventually on the Sci Fi Channel in America, what will the network do? Will they allocate extra time for the broadcast (as I hope they will) or simply cut the episode to bits? The Sci Fi Channel has cut down the time of Doctor Who episodes before, most notably with the Season Three finale “Last of the Time Lords”, the original length of which clocked in at 52 minutes.
Lost: Taller Ghost Walt Talks About Who Has to Go Back to the Island
One of the (many) burning questions inspired by the Lost finale is, “To whom was Ben referring when he says that everyone has to go back to the Island?” Meaning, who, exactly, is everyone?
Does everyone include Ji-Yeon, who was conceived on the Island but never took a breath there? Does it include helicopter pilot Frank, who just stopped by for a three-hour tour? And perhaps most intriguingly, does it include Walt, who left “early,” and whose father has surely already paid the piper?
Now, I can’t tell you yet if Ben’s edict includes the babies, but I can tell you what Malcolm David Kelley thinks about Walt’s situation! Click in to find out his take on Walt’s destiny:
When asked at the 34th Annual Saturn Awards in Universal City, Calif., if he thought Walt had to go back with the rest of the gang, Malcolm said, “Yeah, I think I should go back to the Island and stir up a little trouble back there. I think that’d be pretty cool.” Agreed!
Has he talked to the writers about guesting, recurring or becoming a regular on either of the show’s final two seasons? Said Malcolm: “They haven’t told me anything right now, but if and when they tell me, I’ll go out to Hawaii and start working.”
In the meanwhile, between now and the return of Lost, hang in there to see Malcolm in a new film he’s very enthusiastic about. He said, “I just finished a movie in North Carolina called Mississippi Damned. It should be coming out some time next year, and it’s a drama taking place in the ’80s and ’90s. It’s a very good movie—really deep.” Can’t wait!
Anyway, taller ghost Walt back on the Island for reals? Sounds absolutely fab to me—what do you think? Post in the comments.