Saturday, May 31, 2014

The Next Food Network Star

So now that I have a blog, I've decided to try doing something traditionally bloggy with it, and with The Food Network Star starting tomorrow night, this seems like the ideal outlet.

I've been watching The Next Food Network Star (or whatever they're calling it now) for the past three seasons, mainly because the rest of the household got into it and it fills the summer months when Once Upon a Time isn't airing. Let me be clear on this: I LIKE the Food Network, even if it's really become the Competition-With-Some-Food-Themes-Somewhere Network. I don't really mind so much. I get that competition draws viewers, and the channel is a business which relies on viewership. I can even respect that.

I also respect the Food Network enough to call bullshit when I see it.

So let me backtrack. In 2011 Jeff Mauro won. He wasn't my favorite, but I understand why he won. The following year was the Bobby Flay, Giada De Laurentiis and Alton Brown 'team' format. Curiously things sort of worked out where each coach had one contestant in the final round (sort of). There was never any mention in the rules from what I remember that this was going to happen, so it struck me as odd that the teams would just happen to do better or worse in such a way that it worked out so evenly in the end (again, sort of).

Now I also understand that reality television isn't reality, it's doctored. In the 2011 year Penny Davidi went down in history as the villain of the season, and she was certainly made to look so. The show kind of embellished the conflict between her and Mary Beth Albright (of 3rd Rock From the Sun?). By the end of the season Mary Beth revealed herself to be not quite the honorable contestant she'd been portrayed as, leaving me to wonder if Penny had been a bit of a punching bag by the network. But, whatever right? That's show business.

Back to 2012. Team Giada's contestant was Yvan Lemoine, and quite frankly all signs pointed to him winning. Team Alton was Justin Warner, who wound up winning and then...there went that. People were surprised that Justin won. I think we were all banking on Yvan. And I also got the sense that the Food Network wanted Yvan, but it was up to the audience to vote. They voted in Justin.

Stepping back again, here was the final lineup. Yvan on team Giada. Michelle Ragussis on Team Bobby. And the executives threw a curveball by having two of Alton Brown's team in the final episode, Justin Warner and Martie Duncan.

Why did they do this? Just for the added tension? Maybe. Or maybe the network thought two contestants would divide the audience vote for Alton Brown giving Yvan the win.

Obviously as I write this blog I'm making no apologies about speculation. These are my opinions, and I usually write fiction, so I reserve the right to be wrong. But as a fiction writer, I'm in the habit of examining character motivations and figuring out why a character suddenly behaves erratically. That's what I'm doing with this blog. I'm speculating on the character of the powers at the Food Network.

Why? Because of what happened the next year.

It was apparent that Chad Rosenthal, Nikki Dinki and Stacey Poon-Kinney were just in a different league than the rest of the competitors. All three showed very strong talent week after week. Then Chad had one bad week and he was gone. Then Nikki had one bad week and she was gone. And Stacey made it to the final four and tripped up and was gone. Leaving behind the consistently mediocre Damaris Phillips up against Rodney Henry and Russell Jackson; two very nice guys, but who'd had so many bad weeks they never should have made it to the end of the competition.

And that's why I'm calling bullshit.

You see, this was around the time that the whole Paula Deen thing blew up. This is a big maybe, but maaaayyyybeeeee the Food Network was looking for a new southern woman to replace Deen. And maaaayyyybeeeee the channel sabotaged some of the strongest competitors to pit the one they wanted against two contestants who clearly weren't going to win.

Would they do that?

Well, exhibit-what am I on now? D? E? Danushka Freaking Lysek. The part time model turned private chef who lasted three weeks in the competition and couldn't have been less interesting or demonstrate any less talent or screen presence. Then at the finale, Bobby Flay was asked if there was a contestant who he'd like to have seen more from. He chose Danushka. He said he felt she had a lot to offer or some crap like that.

I like Bobby Flay. I wish his show Three Days to Open with Bobby Flay had lasted because it had more heart than Restaurant Impossible. I don't believe he saw any talent in Danushka. I believe someone above him on the Food Chain told him to say that.

So all this to say that my respect for the Food Network unseen forces is in question, and with the show starting up again tomorrow I'm going to be watching. And blogging about what I see and critically evaluating it.

We'll see how this goes.