Top Chef - Season Two

[frndofpooh]

Wow - just wow. Now, I have not been down on Marcel - I don't think he is someone I would like to spend time with, but I think he got chosen as the "problem contestant" and that was that. I felt so sorry for him when Cliff manhandled him - that was awful. I realize I am indulging in some psychoanalyis on the DIS, but he just seems like someone who has been picked on for a long time and now he has a wall around him that no one is going to get around. Whenever he says, "let's just talk about the food" I get the feeling he's just too messed up to deal with people. Just my $.02

Elia with no hair - wow. She had great hair!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

LOL, sorry M4M, I was deeply engrossed in this week's episode. Right now, it's toward the end of Season 2. It was a new episode tonight, different chefs than last season. A lot of "personaity issues" this season.

I'm shocked and disappointed in Cliff (and thinking, heck, he could have gotten arrested for that little stunt). I understand doing stupid things, but I think he carried it too far - way too far. I didn't hear Ilan, Elia or Sam tell him to knock it off, either. Poor Marcel probably didn't know what was happening. No wonder he headed for the bathroom, he probably had to wipe himself.

I'll have to read Chef Tom's blog to get the lowdown on the whole thing. How do you think he knew about it? Did Marcel call him? Did the cameramen tell? I wonder...

I'm glad they're all going to Hawaii.

 

[Mad4Mickey]

PEA ok ok I just was sitting here talking to my Dh and he said we didnt see a winner we thought it was over LOL I went to Disneyland back on Dec 16 i came home on the 21 and just never turned it back on !!!!

Man I missed a bunch I will watch tonights when it repeats in an hour : ) Thanks Pea I owe ya

 

[MosMom]

How much time passes between LA & Hawaii? Elia's hair grew a lot it seems from the preview.

Cliff screwed up but he would have been gone anyway. Cliff is a bit of a jerk anyway I think.

 

[noseybuddy]

Yes I noticed how her hair grew. I also wonder how much time? I am glad Cliff got sent home, did ya see the look on his face?

 

[TheDoctor]

WOW. I am a little surprised. I agree with the final four.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Chef Tom's hasn't commented yet on this week's episode. But here's what Harold and Leann from last season had to say. (Interestingly, Leann was in the kitchen in Santa Barbara with these guys, which was filmed last August.)

And then the competition's over, and they go back to the house. And you’ve got to be kidding me. Suddenly it’s an uncomfortable boys locker room experience. Whether you were the victim, the aggressor, or just watching. You saw it in high school. And I’m still appalled. I don’t even know what to say. Everyone does stupid stuff when they’ve had a couple of cocktails. Sure. But if someone tries to hold me down and shave my head, nothing good is going to come of that. Nothing I’ve seen about Marcel leads me to believe that he’d just take that. I sure as hell would not have.

This is a show about food. I know that a lot of people want to blame the producers for making this a show that’s more about the drama than it is about the food. And some people want to say that this cast just has no sense of maturity. It’s both. Of course everyone behaved badly. So shave heads, kick people off, get drunk, the whole thing...I don’t know.

As a viewer, as a former contestant, I’m personally invested in the show, on a lot of different levels. And I’m disappointed. In just about everyone.

Enter B.S. I can’t even begin to comment on how their antics pissed everyone off. There are probably thousands of people who would’ve loved to be in their place and it is such a shame to see how their immaturity got the best of them. Cliff very well may have gotten sent home anyways for his beef and lentils, but getting disqualified is a really crappy way to go out. It was a very disheartening day for production.

I know that between the end of filming in L.A. and the finale in Hawaii, they all had some time to reflect. The premiere party in NYC happened in October, and for a night, we were able to celebrate …Harold, Dave, Candice, Andrea, Cynthia, Miguel, Brian, and myself…Elia, Sam, Suyai, Mike, Marisa, Josie, Marcel, Ilan, Carlos, and Cliff…and everyone had an amazing time, together.

Yes, the spirit of competition sucks, but I hope the value of friendship and such a unique experience stays with this group as it has with me. Sam, Ilan, Marcel, and Elia all deserve to go to Hawaii. They are the top four out of fifteen and believe me when I say you will get to see a more mature and focused side of them when they get to the Big Island. Until then, aloha. The best is yet to come.

 

[Maggi May]

What a disappointing episode. According to the producer's blog, Marcel didn't complain about the incident to any of the production staff, and didn't mention it until an interview with a producer next day, when he shrugged it off. Once the production staff looked at the tapes, they realized how serious it was.

I agree with Harold and Leann's comments about how disappointing the contestant's behavior was, but it's also disheartening to see how much Bravo promoted the behavior and even seemed to revel in it. It was very uncomfortable to watch someone being awoken and manhandled by somone much larger than he, and then to see a poll adverstised during the commercials -- "Vote for who hates Marcel the most." Tacky.

 

[RUDisney]

What a disappointing episode. According to the producer's blog, Marcel didn't complain about the incident to any of the production staff, and didn't mention it until an interview with a producer next day, when he shrugged it off. Once the production staff looked at the tapes, they realized how serious it was.

I agree with Harold and Leann's comments about how disappointing the contestant's behavior was, but it's also disheartening to see how much Bravo promoted the behavior and even seemed to revel in it. It was very uncomfortable to watch someone being awoken and manhandled by somone much larger than he, and then to see a poll adverstised during the commercials -- "Vote for who hates Marcel the most." Tacky.

I agree with everything that you've said. I had a hard time sleeping after watching last night's episode. I am still very disturbed by the whole thing. This group of chefs has been the absolute worst of society in every way. From Otto stealing lychees, to setting each other up to fail in the firehouse, to Ilan's banter about cherries lowering libido, to last night's Marcel hatefest! I don't know that I can watch a repeat of last night's show. I want to watch the finale to see who wins, but I can't take much more of their immaturity. I hope Leann was right and they become professionals in HI.

 

[powellrj]

Now we know why Ilan has been wearing that dumb hoodie with the hood up for the last couple of "private moments"

I pretty much thought that Sam would be going from the first challenge when Harold told him that he had also won the first quick fire and went on to win. He has won most of the quick fires.

While Cliff wasn't a favorite, I was shocked at what happened last night.

I know they say the producers don't have any input, but I also question why Micheal was there so long. While I enjoyed him, I agree with Sam that he was basically a line cook and was in over his head long before he left.

Harold was my clear favorite last year, but this year I really don't have a favorite. I think they all have some major flaws. I guess I will have to go with Sam, but after Harold last year, I just really can't get behind any of them.

 

[fakereadhed]

I was more bothered by the text messaging question than the episode.
"Who hates Marcel more?"- Me (got more than 20%)

It's one thing to have your cast members dislike you and pick on you. Let's have America join in and vote how much they hate you, too.

 

[Robinrs]

Bravo knew this would be good TV that's why they promoted it so heavily.

I'm glad to see Cliff go, he was my least favorite. Now my fave is Sam and Elia, leaning on Elia. I can't believe she shaved her head but what a beautiful face! She looked adorable in the promos with the short crop.

As for Marcel, he IS good TV. I agree with the blog about how he has probably been getting on people's nerves since childhood... he has the worse people skills of anyone I've ever met... besides my co-worker!

He hits me as a passive aggressive nuisance, and that can bring out the absolute WORSE in a person. The fact that he brought it out in literally every person in the loft speaks volumes of the 24 hours a day they spend with him. He should take total responsibility in how others have reacted to him because deep down I truly believe he's fooled himself into believing that he's done nothing to cause their reactions.

 

[bengalbelle]

I missed it! I know a repeat will be on sometime, but will someone tell me what happened?

 

[letterdavidman]

He hits me as a passive aggressive nuisance, and that can bring out the absolute WORSE in a person. The fact that he brought it out in literally every person in the loft speaks volumes of the 24 hours a day they spend with him. He should take total responsibility in how others have reacted to him because deep down I truly believe he's fooled himself into believing that he's done nothing to cause their reactions.

Wow. I can't believe how chilling that line of reasoning is, on so many levels. When did he ever do anything that deserved being slammed onto the floor, in a headlock no less, by someone who is twice the size of him?

Is he consistently irritating? Absolutely. But, you know what? I know someone whose personality was a lot more poisonous than his--Tiffani, from season one. And you didn't see any of her fellow contestants (not even Dave) trying to gang up on her and sabotage her performance during a competition, or assaulting her (and they're the better for having taken the high road, as would've been season two's contestants, had they done the same). But if something like that had happened to her, would you be attempting to justify that also?

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I missed it! I know a repeat will be on sometime, but will someone tell me what happened?

They all did a pretty good job with food in the Elimination Challenge - though Cliff's dish was the least favorite. However, the night after the dinner, prior to the Judge's table, Elia, Ilan, Cliff and Sam had a few drinks and got goofy. Ilan and Elia shaved their heads. Somehow they got in their heads it would be a good idea to shave Marcel's head as well. Cliff woke a sleeping Marcel and held him down egging on the others to come shave his head. None of them would, but none of them told Cliff to stop, either. Marcel was manhandled pretty roughly, and was really upset, going by himself to sleep on the cold bathroom floor that night, presumably with the door locked. Ilan videotaped the whole thing, and they played it on the show. It was disturbing to watch.

In the morning, Chef Tom came in, talked to Cliff and told him that because he broke the rules of the show by laying his hands on Marcel, he was being let go, but later they said he would have been eliminated anyway since his dish was the least favorite. The four of them left all had good dishes, so the judges decided to send all four of them to Hawaii.

 

[TheBeadPirate]

Missed the episode last night so I can't comment on it yet.

But a word about the editing. The whole show is edited to play up the presumed attitude each contestant has. It's to make the favorites and the irritation head to their extremes. If it was just "about the food" we'd all be watching the food channel instead.

Season 1 with Tiffani-I couldn't stand her. Nope not at all. Even laughed when Dave did better. BUT, since she has relocated to New Orleans I have been lucky to have met her more than a couple of times. She is actually a very nice lady. Very eloquent and actually seems kinda shy. Even after a couple of cocktails. Not anything like the Tiffani from the show that I loved to hate.

Just another aspect to consider IMHO

 

[TheDoctor]

I remember Frank threathening to hit Marcel earlier. The show is suppose to be about food but the personal conflicts have been getting in the way.

Right now, I am hoping for Elia to take it. I have a feeling that Sam may be the winner but I really like Elia.

 

[Robinrs]

Wow. I can't believe how chilling that line of reasoning is, on so many levels. When did he ever do anything that deserved being slammed onto the floor, in a headlock no less, by someone who is twice the size of him?

Is he consistently irritating? Absolutely. But, you know what? I know someone whose personality was a lot more poisonous than his--Tiffani, from season one. And you didn't see any of her fellow contestants (not even Dave) trying to gang up on her and sabotage her performance during a competition, or assaulting her (and they're the better for having taken the high road, as would've been season two's contestants, had they done the same). But if something like that had happened to her, would you be attempting to justify that also?

I was talking about the way they all are disgusted by him, not the assault... geez... I hate being misunderstood on so many levels...

Tiffani was nasty and somewhat irritating but she was not a gnat on the back of every person like Marcel, nowhere near it. Tiffany was a totally unlikeable person but she in no way brought out the ire that Marcel has brought out in these people.

There is no excuse for what Cliff did to her and I'm not trying to justify that. What I do believe is that Marcel took pleasure in the way the others couldn't stand him, and believed it to be jealousy... proof of his narcissistic immaturity.

Whatever the reasoning, SOMETHING about him caused all but Elia to quote "want to smack him" and no doubt the producers believed this was a great hook.... every good show has to have a villain, and this year, he is IT.

 

[Figment22]

I'm shocked and disappointed in Cliff (and thinking, heck, he could have gotten arrested for that little stunt). I understand doing stupid things, but I think he carried it too far - way too far. I didn't hear Ilan, Elia or Sam tell him to knock it off, either. Poor Marcel probably didn't know what was happening. No wonder he headed for the bathroom, he probably had to wipe himself.

I, too, was shocked and disappointed in Cliff because I did like his culinary style, second only to Sam in my book, but his behavior was reprehensible. That was actually difficult to watch on Wed. night. And, as you mentioned, no one even tried to stop him! This is a seriously flawed bunch of individuals. It's hard to root for any of them.

 

[va32h]

I, too, was shocked and disappointed in Cliff because I did like his culinary style, second only to Sam in my book, but his behavior was reprehensible. That was actually difficult to watch on Wed. night. And, as you mentioned, no one even tried to stop him! This is a seriously flawed bunch of individuals. It's hard to root for any of them.

In his blog, Tom Colicchio said he'd like to get rid of all of them too, and let Marcel win by default. But the producers wouldn't let him!