Blue Ribbon Baking Championship

Ok I love cooking shows like Master Chef, British Bake Off, Chopped and all the lesser ones that can be fun even though they are God-Awful like the recent Ciao House and Next-Level Chef.

As a general rule, I hate State Fair themed things, so keep that in mind as you read this. It's a stretch on so many of the challenges to stay within the confines of this theme. Some of them seem repetitive.

The contestants are the usual suspects: Sweet -looking- but-tough -competitor grandma, insecure young professional in another field, older gentleman in his second-act career, Mom, Gay perfectionist, exhausting optimist /deprecating jokester who is constantly "up"....

Finally, to the meat of the matter: co-host Sandra Lee. I think you're either a fan, or you aren't. For those who don't know, her claim to fame is not as a chef or baker or even homemaker, but as "Semi-Homemade" food network host. On that program, she took store- bought ready-made items to "create" a dish. Often ridiculous, it was really fun to hate-watch. The best part was the end where she made a cocktail. She's still awkward af as she was back in the day, stiff and somewhat plastic- but on this show, her appearance is jarring. She is still a very attractive woman, but whatever work/ fillers she's had are not flattering and appear to affect her ability to express herself. That's not even the worst part- her outfits! Is she dressed up for Halloween? Her wardrobe is atrocious! Why?? It is so distracting. I am not even listening to half the show, so sidetracked am I with the absurd get-ups. Her co-host, Jason Biggs, does the best he can. I remember him vaguely- was he on a sitcom? Not sure it had anything to do with food, but he does a decent job here.

If you want something to pass the time until the BBO returns, this will do. Please - someone tell Sandra to fire the stylist!

So let me just preface this review by saying that being from the UK I'm a big fan of GBBO. I've watched it since it began back in 2010 so i was going to be hard pushed to find anything that beat the show's format. That said I was interested to watch a lighter hearted version. I enjoyed the baking aspect and could even forgive the judges lacking any chemistry. Then Sandra Lee with her flailing arms and hands and then finally Jason Biggs as the lack lustre and not at all funny host. I remember him from his American Pie days and perhaps had expectations that this humour would carry though. However I was willing to overlook all of this.

But oh my goodness that constant background music from beginning to end, even when the contestants bakes were being judged was so irritating to me, to the point where I had to turn on subtitles on and mute the sound.

It honestly completely ruined the full "viewing" pleasure for me. To have background music almost CONSTANTLY isn't necessary and the tunes were over the place.

So yes this I my main big reason for marking it down. Take that away and I may have enjoyed it a little more.

Sandra Lee sucks. She has nothing of value to add. Bring in another Judge who has experience. Take her out and this show would be 100% better. Otherwise this was ok. The whole fair set up was unbelievable. But otherwise it could be fun. I watch the whole season but frustrated witj everything Sandr Lee said. Judge Bill Yosses had the only experienced value added critics. And Jason Biggs added a fun and realistic perspective. PLEASE remove Sandra Lee!

What I liked when Sandra Lee wasn't part of it was how normal all of the contestants were. It was fun and I would like to watch another season but won't if Sandra Lee is a part of it. Have I said how much Sandra Lee ruins this show?

August is a month when nothing new or compelling hits streaming. You get crime or cooking and an occasional good movie. I enjoyed seeing the desserts that came from the bakers. Made me want to eat pie, cake, and sweet rolls. So stay away from the show if you're dieting. The actual baking sequences are a waste of time. Part of watching these cooking shows is learning. GBBS always teaches you about how to be a better baker. This show does not. It does offer some attractive goodies. The contestants are not that interesting. That might be editing. And the main host is a distraction. She looks like holy roller Barbie. Her outfits are over the top flouncy creations that make her look like she's competing to look like a bad wedding cake. There are two other judges who are okay bur over shadowed by the Barbie judge. I made it through the series but only because after episode three I fast forwarded to see the desserts. I wasn't invested enough in the contestants to care who won. If Netflix renews this show they need to replace blonde with some one less over whelming. A grandma from Ohio maybe. Gotta go to the store to get some prebuilt pie. Bye bye.

Even if she is the executive producer, it's incredibly weird that Jason Biggs is the host and there are three judges but only one judge walks around with Jason Biggs like a co-host. Any criticism she gives is nonsense and very contradictory in comparison to the other two judges. Honestly, other than that I have no issues with the show other than them trying to push the American pie thing. My fiance told me I sounded crazy when I was getting frustrated with the way Sandra Lee acts on this show. So reading these comments is satisfying. I think judge Bill is my favorite judge. Very no nonsense and extremely experienced.