Winnipeg Free Press - November 26/2009
CELEBRITY chefs are a dime a dozen these days, but Gordon Ramsay still manages to make people take notice. Returning Dec. 16 to Fox, the American version of Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares might be more over-the-top than its British counterpart (check the reruns on the Food Network or BBC Canada), but it’s still worth watching. Although Ramsay almost seems like a caricature of himself at points, some of the drama feels forced and the show can be formulaic, there is still something fascinating about watching the Michelin-starred chef help turn around a failing kitchen.
Hoping to build on the success of Hell’s Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares, the foul-mouthed chef is developing a new prime-time show, Gordon Ramsay: Cookalong Live, that will show viewers cooking basics and help them prepare fast, fresh meals.
Lost’s final season will answer everything. Mostly.
DEDICATED fans of ABC’s hit series Lost have been eagerly waiting for glimpses into the final season of the show. Although a poster promoting the last season has be unveiled, it reveals nothing about the fate of the survivors of Oceanic 815. The writers and producers have been reluctant to provide any clues to the direction the show will take when it returns on Feb. 2 in a new time slot,
“I think even a single scene from the show would basically tip what it is we’re doing this year, and what it is we’re doing this year is different than what we’ve done in other years,” explains show runner Damon Lindelof. “That is the marketing strategy that we are trying to impose upon our masters. I can’t unequivocally say that we will be able to hold the embargo all the way up until the actual première, but it’s pretty cool that we’re not showing anything as late as November, so we’ll see. I think once the show actually starts, once we’re back on, then we’ll start showing people what we’re up to.”
Despite the lack of previews, the final season of Lost is generating a good amount of buzz and will be one of the biggest TV events of 2010. Considering the writers have a limited time to wrap up storylines and push the plot forward, it’s going to be wild ride for Lost lovers.
“We’re kind of returning back to the same kind of storytelling that put us on the map in the first place and resolving some of these mysteries,” Lindelof said. “I think this had got to be a record for how much patience people have, but the idea that we’re actually getting to answer some of these questions creates this incredible nostalgia, especially when you’re doing it through the characters and the actors who were there in the very beginning, so it’s pretty cool, theoretically.”
The 25 Best Live Moments on TV (2000-2009)
LIVE television can be mesmerizing, spontaneous and instantly captivating. It can yield wonderful moments that help define popular culture. Looking past decade-defining tragedies like the attacks on Sept. 11, the war in Iraq and Indian Ocean tsunami, Paste magazine rounds up the 25 best live moments on TV. From Barack Obama’s acceptance speech to Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling’s bloody sock, these are moment moments that helped define the last nine years.
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition November 26, 2009 E3
