The Great British Bake Off 2019

I suppose no posts in nearly three weeks indicates moopy isn't THAT bothered by this. I'm watching on 4seven now. I've only seen a few bits over the last few weeks so perhaps I'm missing something, but they just aren't a very likeable, are they? I think all of them are irritating me to various degrees.
 
There aren’t really any CHARACTERS. Actually, the last one I was really rooting for was Henry.

The rest are just inoffensive variants of BEIGE.
 
I'm watching but I don't really feel the need to talk about any of it. There's no one I particularly like or dislike. There's certainly no one who'll be getting invited on talk shows four years from now like Queen Nadiya.
 
I watched. Didn't hate it. And haven't watched it for about 2 or 3 weeks.
 
It hasn't been a vintage year, especially since they had the nerve to cut Helena for no reason at all. It wasn't the best cast, and Steph seems so far ahead of the rest of them (is it four times star baker now?) - last night everyone else was quite rubbish in the showstopper.
 
Henry’s showstopper must be one of the least appetizing things I’ve seen on the show. All that lard and meat on top of a chocolate pie.
 
This series being won by the gay with an aversion to sugar and fat was just about right.

Poor Steph's meltdown. :(

However :D at Alice's meltdown over her parents (and their frankly bizarre to camera piece going on about good management).
 
This show still gets the viewers but there's no buzz about it anymore. Although compared to other shows what IS there to talk about? It doesn't have the cunts and fuck ups that makes The Apprentice TV gold, it's just a bit BORING.
 
It’s got international appeal the way none of the others do.
 
It was a pleasant enough final. And I cackled at Steph having a TOTAL meltdown. I think she just outstayed her welcome (in personality terms).

On the day, you could only really crown David the winner. But I’d warmed to Alice after initially just thinking she’d survived by flying just under the radar. She was remarkably consistent, and in another series that might have been enough to see her through.
 
I couldn't find Steph's meltdowns entertaining on any level really. She seemed genuinely quite vulnerable. It wasn't a lot of fun to watch.

David did the best on the day, no question, but he's hardly a classic winner. His boyfriend basically being his twin kind of said it all. Both he and Alice's parents also seemed WEIRD.
 
Slave said:
And I cackled at Steph having a TOTAL meltdown. I think she just outstayed her welcome (in personality terms).
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Even by Moopy standards that’s cold, even her mom mentioned that she wasn’t in a good place and she was breaking down and it was just sad.

it’s not he most inspiring bunch and David is an alright winner but I don’t think that any of them will make a lasting effect.
 
Sometimes it both amazes and disturbs me that Slave works for the NHS :D (See also BREXIT)
 
I am quite glad that Steph didn’t win. I don’t think she would have coped with winning very well. She actually strikes me as being slightly on the autism spectrum.
 
It’s just not a FUN show anymore. Its lost all of the charm it once had, which made it different from all the other shows. The shit young line up was partly to blame, and the judges are way too harsh and almost nasty at points. It’s not even like The Apprentice when you can cringe and laugh at the fuck ups. Here it’s just uncomfortable.
 
Phoenix said:
Even by Moopy standards that’s cold, even her mom mentioned that she wasn’t in a good place and she was breaking down and it was just sad.
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This place is SUCH a double-standard sometimes.

I found her a TAD annoying and I chuckled when she cooked a soufflé that looked like a puddle of cat vomit.
 
Kalabaliken said:
It’s just not a FUN show anymore. Its lost all of the charm it once had, which made it different from all the other shows. The shit young line up was partly to blame, and the judges are way too harsh and almost nasty at points. It’s not even like The Apprentice when you can cringe and laugh at the fuck ups. Here it’s just uncomfortable.
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It only had charm when it was on the Beeb. The move to Channel 4 basically stripped it of its most essential appeal.
 
Edward said:
It only had charm when it was on the Beeb. The move to Channel 4 basically stripped it of its most essential appeal.
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So what's missing? Mel and Sue? Mary? Some innate sense of Beebness? All of the above, or something else?

I agree with you, by the way. I just can't put my finger on it. For me it has never got over the advert breaks.
 
I think the first year on Channel 4 there was just a relief that they didn't REALLY fuck it up but it has lost a bit of shine. Part of it is limitations of the format, and I agree the breaks don't help with it being one of those shows that I tend to prefer to watch live.
 
lolly said:
So what's missing? Mel and Sue? Mary? Some innate sense of Beebness? All of the above, or something else?

I agree with you, by the way. I just can't put my finger on it. For me it has never got over the advert breaks.
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All of the above. There was a magic formula in place. Take away even one aspect and it falls by the wayside.
 
I think this us the first series I've not watched at all, other than the end of the week before the semi for about 25 minutes.

I didn't intend NOT to watch it this year, but I think the casting this year put me off when they were all so young.
 
I’ve seen some of this season, it’s alright but it is no longer as charming as it once was. I miss Mary’s eyes lighting up when it was a boozy cake.
 
I gave up half way through. Total meh cast. Give me someone new please.
 
I watched every episode, but I missed the final as I caught the result on breakfast tv the next morning.
 
I stopped watching a few episodes back, not deliberately necessarily, but I didn't have the desire to catch up really. As mentioned, the casting this season left a lot to be desired.

I also think the judging line-up lacks warmth. Paul was the weak link on the Beeb, but did fine as a bad cop, but Prue is equally unlikable.
 
I DID watch some of it (I hadn't really caught the Ch4 version before). Prue Leith is dreadful on this. I always have time for some Toksvig but Noel tries ever so hard (and isn't anywhere near as funny as he thinks he is).

Pair that with sub-par contestants and there really isn't much to tune in for.
 
VoR said:
I couldn't find Steph's meltdowns entertaining on any level really. She seemed genuinely quite vulnerable. It wasn't a lot of fun to watch.

David did the best on the day, no question, but he's hardly a classic winner.
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I was uncomfortable watching Steph by the end, to be honest. It felt inappropriate that the cameras were still being pointed at her.

There was very little joy in watching David win. He wasn't bad at or stressed out by anything. Highly competent person succeeds only really works on reality tv if that person is Bianca Del Rio.
 
It's still only narrowly not the biggest show on TV, and on a minority channel. It probably isn't going to have the impact it had in the days of Nadiya, but writing it off now seems more than a little premature. I think a few minor tweaks could see it somewhat reinvigorated. It isn't limping lamely along like X Factor has been for over half a decade, mocked by more people than who watch it.
 
Apparently the ratings were half a million down in the overnights from the final for last year.

The final got 10.13m in 2017 and 10.54m in 2018, and I fully expect this will end up near the 10m mark in the consolidated figures, so it's clearly far from a disastrous slump.

Obviously that's considerably less than the BBC1 years (higher than the BBC2 ones, though), but that's entirely to be expected.

And pretty much every long running programme's audience (and audiences in general) have fallen in the last 3-4 years, anyway.
 
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Interestingly it's the #1 show on TV for 16-34 year olds, with over 2.2m watching(71% share). That's more than double what X Factor Celebrity gets.
 
The finale got a fairly scathing review on AV Club. This passage in particular sums up a lot of the issues for me.

In the first seven seasons, when contestants started to melt down, hosts Mel and Sue would come over and console them, shielding them from the cameras and using profanity to ensure the BBC wouldn’t be able to air the footage. They were very protective of the contestants and did their best to make sure they weren’t exploited to gin up emotional beats for the show. This season has featured several teary moments, but unlike in previous seasons, the camera has stayed right in the bakers’ faces, with one of the hosts eventually stepping in to buck up the struggling baker. Noel and Sandi seem to have strong relationships with the bakers and come across well, but swooping in to reassure a contestant is one thing. Making sure their breakdowns can’t be aired is something else entirely. By highlighting these emotionally fraught moments, rather than granting the bakers privacy until they regain their composure, Baking Show has sacrificed its defining element, its kindness. One instance of this would be concerning. Two would be disappointing. In season 10, it’s happened over and over, and Steph’s tears through the technical are just the latest example. Baking Show used to be better than this. In season 10, it’s just another reality show happy to exploit its contestants’ vulnerabilities.
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I always forget that Mel and Sue would do that, how lovely :D

I wonder why they call it Great British Baking Show in the US? It's so clumsy sounding, and I'm guessing it's for some sort of copyright reason rather than cultural differences - "bake-off" already feels like quite an American phrase to me.
 
I think that’s spot on. I felt the loss of Mel & Sue particularly keenly this series.
 
The Derry Girls new year special was the most I have enjoyed this in as long as I can remember. Brightened up a glum new year's day evening, even if it did seem to suggest that some of the cast are playing themselves to some degree.
 
FetchFugly said:
The Derry Girls new year special was the most I have enjoyed this in as long as I can remember. Brightened up a glum new year's day evening, even if it did seem to suggest that some of the cast are playing themselves to some degree.
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I just went to watch it on 4oD and the Xmas episode came on, which I couldn't give a fuck about.
 
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