Bake Off: Crème de la Crème

The show is interesting enough despite the head judge whose accent is very thick. The hosts are irritating at first but they grow on you. The most irritating aspect of the whole show is the annoying Harry Potter-like music that plays every time they show what the contestants are making. Ugh! A little variety would have been nice. It gets annoying really quickly. Otherwise, the use of classic music is very nice.

As far as the competition goes, however, the creations are artistic, dramatic and sometimes spectacular. There is the usual drama of show pieces collapsing. The judges seem to be fair in their eliminations.

Overall it's enjoyable enough to watch. I do enjoy seeing the final desserts. That being said, there's not much more praise. The hosts are cringey as hell. Their bits are absolutely awful and pretty hard to watch. I don't find them amusing or funny in the slightest. As for the judges, they are a bit overzealous and pretentious. Their critiques aren't always constructive. I feel like if you're gonna roast someone's dessert, at least provide tangible feedback. Finally, there's not much joy like you'd expect from the Great British Bake Off. You don't really fall in love with the characters. I'm simply just watching at this point because I'm tired of watching YouTube.

Taken on its own, this show is okay but I wouldn't go out of my way to watch it after seeing one series. But it really fails in comparison to the original. The format is fine, pairs of professionals competing instead of individual amateurs. The judges are okay, maybe a bit overly critical as others have noted, but don't have the chemistry of Paul and Pru or Mary. But the biggest negative is the presenters. Liam Charles is a former Great British Baking Show contestant but doesn't really use that experience to add anything here and he comes across as a bit silly. That has a lot to do with his co-presenter, Tom Allen. Allen is possibly the most annoying person I've seen on television. He manages to make nearly every bit or interaction with the contestants be about himself. And not in the least bit funny or charming way. More like a bratty kid constantly shrieking "look at me." He makes the show nearly unwatchable.

There is nothing if the great British show in this. This show is a pretentious downer with none of the positivity and fun and lighthearted goodness of the great British baking show. Paul and Prue are smart and friendly and supportive; They're fair and compassionate. The judges here come off as elitist, unconcerned for the contestants, and sometimes downright mean. There is no joy of cooking. There is no love of the art. Perhaps on its own it could me a middling competition show but it's attempts to tie itself to the great British baking show seem like a crass marketing ploy to give this less than average show a sense of respectability.

I guess I enjoyed this enough as an interlude to the original, there is a lot missing. The pluses...loved seeing Liam. The judges don't bother me - they're judging professionals rather than amateurs, they should be harsher imo.

But let's be real. They should have named this Confections, Chocolate, and Sugar Work. There is very little actual baking. Where are the cakes? The bread? Other baked good? I may be misremembering, but iir, there are a couple of episodes with zero actual baking.

In any case, I'd rank this as "fine" but don't expect a version of its namesake. Other than the format, this ain't it.