Hell's Kitchen

I hate reality shows. Always have and I probably always will. Hated Survivor since the 1st 5 seconds I watched of it. Came off as corny. Was forced to watch it again because my friends were addicts of it and that didn't change my opinion of it. The FOX goes and makes 20 of these every season. Remember Murder in Small town X or ever it was called? Cancelled after what, 2 episodes. Point is, the reality show is over done, specially the reality game show.

This said, I liked Hell's Kitchen. For once the contestants are involved with something that the viewers can relate to, working in a hot kitchen with a boss yelling down at us every chance he gets. The "we can relate" factor is very high in this show.

And Ramsey may be an jerk in the kitchen, but i get a little smile every time a customer is yelled at by him. It can warm the heart of anyone one that has had to deal with customers in a restaurant or retail job.

Some seasons are good some are bad. I love chef, I just don't love some of the contestants. A little too much sexism for my taste within the contestants but really a guilty pleasure for me.

The first few seasons were engaging and even worthy of binge watching. Then the show nosedived in season 9. Tried to watch season 10 but the constant edits make me dizzy.

It´s as if they hired the dumbest producers and editors they could find starting in season 9. If these people were contestants on the show, they'd be making dishes with 90% salt and hot peppers and 10% actual food.

I thought the show might make a good drinking game, but you'd be falling over even two minutes in. This was the idea: take a swig every time you see or hear:

• edits after less than 3 seconds (two swigs if less than two seconds)
• strobe lights
• dizzying camera pans or zooms
• obviously coached, overacted reaction shots
• commentaries that look like they're being read off cue cards
• loud kettle drums or explosions
• music louder than the person talking

And as a bonus, finish your glass if a quiet, talented person is sent home.

It´s too bad they ruined the show like this. I was enjoying watching it as a guilty pleasure during my workouts.

This is not a creative cooking contest. It's not supposed to be. If you want a show where the chefs get to display their culinary ingenuity, hit up Top Chef or Iron Chef, etc. That being said, this is a great show if you take it as is: it's about people getting yelled at by Chef Ramsay for not working and cooking his way. The chefs are not there show that they have their own style of doing things, but to prove they can survive the stress of working in one of Ramsay's kitchens.

I'm a fan of both Top Chef and Hell's Kitchen. When I want to see innovative new dishes and salivate over the deliciousness on the TV screen, I watch Top Chef. When I want to watch people get yelled at (and live vicariously through Chef Ramsay because who wouldn't want to get paid to yell at people for doing dumb things? C'mon, admit it, there are people you work with who you'd love to yell at...), I watch Hell's Kitchen.

Enjoy it for what it is. Don't bash it for not being something else.

I hadn't seen the show since the beginning. For me, they've always had professional chefs & cooks competing. Watching season 1, I see that it didn't start out that way. They had a mix of home cooks & very few pros. Then he throws them into a restaurant kitchen to disastrous results.

This probably gave Chef Ramsey the idea to start Master Chef, a competition for home cooks, and made Hell's Kitchen a competition for pros.