With TV becoming saturated with Cookery programmes C4 and Gordon Ramsey tried a new format tonight with the live cookalong. After watching it (without cooking along) i must say i was a bit underwhelmed. I think they make the cardinal mistake of trying to give Gordon a script which is a big mistake as we all know how witty and precise he is with his comments off the cuff. Quite a lot of his jokes had been pre written and it just doesn't suit his style at all. Because of the nature of the show and the speed it needs to flow at it just feels a little aggressive and jumpy. Anybody who works in TV will tell you that working live is the hardest thing to master and given that Gordon has to fit a three course meal and various other snippets into his show we'll have to take our chef hat off to him and give him the benefit of the doubt and put it down to the fact that it was the first show.
Until recently they had a similar show in America call Emeril Live and it wasd a fantastic success, the fact that I saw it towards the end of it's ten year run must have helped! I am pretty sure Gordon and the team will have to do a fair bit of tinkering to find the right format and i'd be surprised if people consistantly "cookalong" with him every Friday night but there is every chance that people will tune in to see Gordon's entertaining antics.
So has Gordon lost his magic touch with TV? Temporarily yes! Will this show make it in the long run? Yes, and don't rule it out becoming a huge success stateside either
Gordon's Cookalong Live Video
Friday, January 18, 2008
Posted by www.ifoods.tv at 1:24 PM
Labels: Celebrity Chefs
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2 comments:
I work in TV and can tell you that working live isn't hard to master at ALL. Perhaps cooking a recipe in the allotted time might be tricky but I can assure you that these things are prepped to the N-th degree and that this live cookalong will have been rehearsed at least once, possibly even twice using real food and actually cooking it, to make sure it works.
The problem, as you correctly surmise, is scripting someone who shouldn't be scripted.
I was dizzy watching it, it was so fast!! It all seemed a bit hyper to me and rather difficult maybe for the average cook at home???. I do like Chris Moyles even though he was so busy he didn't have much time to be funny!
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