Great British Baking Show

[Anonymous]

I don't like Matt either. His general manner doesn't seem naturally funny but instead he switches to impersonations, etc (like his comedy shows) which don't really suit this format. That said, I loved their intro to German baking week.

[Anonymous]

^ me too, so funny, but apparently some viewers found the fake German accents offensive

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find Chigs adorable. They are all lovely this season.

My husband told me that he finds Chigs so charming that he wouldn’t mind if I dated him. Lol!

Chigs is gay and lives with a man.

Yes, PP, this is the bit of information that will keep her from leaving her husband for a man she sees on TV once a week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree it's a good group this year and am happy to see any of them win, although I think Guiseppe is just charming.

I still miss Mary Berry and Mel & Sue. Matt gives me the creeps. Noel has grown on me this season.

Mel is a darling but Sue is a monumental narcissist. I knew her for many years post-Cambridge before she was famous. Horrible, horrible person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am enjoying this season, just as I enjoyed every season.

I will say this has been perhaps the most predictable season, with the bakers going out in a very predictable order. Jurgen and Giuseppe were earmarked for the final from the first episode. You could predict with a high degree of accuracy which baker would go out in which order up to the final.

On the whole, I still prefer the early seasons. They were a tad bit more realistic that it was meant to be a home baking show, so we didn't have ridiculous glass domes or sculpture cakes.

True. This season has been predictable, but the casting has been good. Some seasons are stronger than others. I think this season the bakers are stronger than the most recent prior seasons. It also helps that they are doing more normal "home baker" challenges.

I love the early seasons, too. I wish they would show the original BBC seasons, since what is marketed to us as Season 1 is really Season 3 or something like that. I like Prue, but miss Mary Berry. Sue and Mel were hysterical. Sandi Toksvig and Noel made a great duo. Not so sure about Noel with Matt. When they made a sketch about being "free from presenters", I thought it wasn't that bad of an idea. A woman or a poc male/female in place of Matt might have been better.

This season is stronger than last year (the year of COVID explains a lot) but I wouldn't rank this as one of the stronger groups. We have two great bakers - Jurgen and Giuseppe, but everyone else seems weaker to ordinary. Chigs is good, but in a typical year he's closer to middle of the pack than one of the potential finalists. Same with Crystelle. I'm rewatching the season with Nancy and Luis and Richard and Chetna and Chetna didn't make it to the final but she's a much more interesting and talented baker than either Chigs or Crystelle.

I am probably nitpicking too much and we do have to be generous with the marketing embellishments proclaiming every season is the best bunch of bakers ever. Everyone is delightful and it is always an endearing show to watch.

I do wonder how the bakers are selected because are these really the 12 best bakers out of the thousands who apply to be on the show? Giuseppe and Jurgen, possibly, yes, are understandable. But the rest does have you scratching your head and you figure other factors came into play in picking them that has nothing to do with baking but more to do with meeting demographic requirements. It's almost a cliche to this point as almost every season seems to see the same types of contestants.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am enjoying this season, just as I enjoyed every season.

I will say this has been perhaps the most predictable season, with the bakers going out in a very predictable order. Jurgen and Giuseppe were earmarked for the final from the first episode. You could predict with a high degree of accuracy which baker would go out in which order up to the final.

On the whole, I still prefer the early seasons. They were a tad bit more realistic that it was meant to be a home baking show, so we didn't have ridiculous glass domes or sculpture cakes.

True. This season has been predictable, but the casting has been good. Some seasons are stronger than others. I think this season the bakers are stronger than the most recent prior seasons. It also helps that they are doing more normal "home baker" challenges.

I love the early seasons, too. I wish they would show the original BBC seasons, since what is marketed to us as Season 1 is really Season 3 or something like that. I like Prue, but miss Mary Berry. Sue and Mel were hysterical. Sandi Toksvig and Noel made a great duo. Not so sure about Noel with Matt. When they made a sketch about being "free from presenters", I thought it wasn't that bad of an idea. A woman or a poc male/female in place of Matt might have been better.

This season is stronger than last year (the year of COVID explains a lot) but I wouldn't rank this as one of the stronger groups. We have two great bakers - Jurgen and Giuseppe, but everyone else seems weaker to ordinary. Chigs is good, but in a typical year he's closer to middle of the pack than one of the potential finalists. Same with Crystelle. I'm rewatching the season with Nancy and Luis and Richard and Chetna and Chetna didn't make it to the final but she's a much more interesting and talented baker than either Chigs or Crystelle.

I am probably nitpicking too much and we do have to be generous with the marketing embellishments proclaiming every season is the best bunch of bakers ever. Everyone is delightful and it is always an endearing show to watch.

I do wonder how the bakers are selected because are these really the 12 best bakers out of the thousands who apply to be on the show? Giuseppe and Jurgen, possibly, yes, are understandable. But the rest does have you scratching your head and you figure other factors came into play in picking them that has nothing to do with baking but more to do with meeting demographic requirements. It's almost a cliche to this point as almost every season seems to see the same types of contestants.

So I have just recently started watching, and been bingeing past seasons while also watching the current season. Totally agree they seem to have a set list of ‘Types’— the nerdy science guys, the regular Joes, the young gay men, the grandmothers, the young housewives, and the very young quirky Gen Zs. Each season seems to have at least one of each of those, and then a few ‘at large’ contestants.

I really like it, but much prefer the original hosts. And I find the time aspect to be annoying. It seems to be more about who can bake really quickly than who bakes well. Or maybe there is enough time and they just create some drama by mischaracterizing the time element.

Anyway, the big downside of this show is that I have started baking WAY too much!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My vote is on Guiseppe; he is so calm and kind. It will be between him, Juergen and Crystelle
I thought Noel and Matt’s Kraft-Werk inspired intro to German week was hysterical.

IDK, Chiggs is really coming into his own….

[Anonymous]

I started following Chetna on Twitter. Loved that season.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it my imagination or is there less backstory/family stuff this season? I wonder if it is covid-related…

They don't get into backstory/family stuff until the final episode when there's a brief feature of the three finalists.

In the early seasons, there was a lot of family/back story stuff from episode 1. You met the pets, the spouse, the kids. You saw them at work. Or studying for exams.

This is the first post Mary Berry season I’ve watched so I don’t know if it is Covid or just how they do it now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I do wonder how the bakers are selected because are these really the 12 best bakers out of the thousands who apply to be on the show? Giuseppe and Jurgen, possibly, yes, are understandable. But the rest does have you scratching your head and you figure other factors came into play in picking them that has nothing to do with baking but more to do with meeting demographic requirements. It's almost a cliche to this point as almost every season seems to see the same types of contestants.

A friend of mine has applied twice (or maybe three times?) to get on. I don't remember the full details, but one time she got as close as the final tryouts -- which involve baking on camera, I think doing a sweet and a savory bake. They are looking for particular demographics and geography (and a mix of demographics and geography), how well you perform on camera, and even how well you bake (!). I suppose whether you fit with the final group may play a role too -- they probably want a mix of baking styles as well as other characteristics. One year we were visiting while she was filling out the written application, which included a lot about hobbies and other interests -- she was working up an explanation of how she trained for triathalons fueled by her home-baked energy bars. But best of all was when we visited while she was practicing her bakes for the try-outs!

My personal favorite contestant, I think, is Chetna.

[Anonymous]

Would be nice if you could discuss wo spoiling who leaves. Seems like it would’ve been easy enough…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Would be nice if you could discuss wo spoiling who leaves. Seems like it would’ve been easy enough…

Don’t read about a show that you haven’t watched if you don’t want spoilers. Seems easy enough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would be nice if you could discuss wo spoiling who leaves. Seems like it would’ve been easy enough…

Don’t read about a show that you haven’t watched if you don’t want spoilers. Seems easy enough.

+1 and it's a weekly show the current season - so it's not like anyone has binged it and is spoiling, we are following as each week takes place.

I find it hard not to see who leaves before watching it, because it's often an online article in the British tabloids, which I follow sometimes - you can't unsee it but it doesn't spoil the enjoyment of watching the show play out

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Love Noel, really liked the previous hosts. Can’t stand Matt.

I agree.

[Anonymous]

My vote is for Giuseppe. I love Jurgen, but Giuseppe has more finesse and artistry with his cake decorating, and that’s what stands out. I like how humble both of them are. I agree with the person up thread who said in prior years Crystelle and Chigs likely would’ve been eliminated by now. But, they have terrific personalities to fit in with the group, and they are both very easy on the eyes One thing I always love about this show is how kind, helpful, supportive and lighthearted the contestants are. No yelling or swearing. and I love seeing the post script that shows the contestants visiting each other and getting together long after the competition is over.