Shame on Gordon Ramsey [MasterChef 7/9]

[JuniorBalloon]

For making a blind woman cry. Absolutely pointless. We knew she wasn't going home. She knew she hadn't made her best dish. Why make her twist in front of the whole world? I know, it's all about ratings. sigh.

jb

[saeyedoc]

Legally blind means poor vision centrally, or a very limited visual field. You can be legally blind and still be fairly functional. Someone could have glaucoma and see 20/20, but only through a very small area. You could have macular degeneration and see everything but the center. Without knowing details, we're just guessing as to Christine's actual disability.
If someone can't see the big E on the chart (20/400), the next level down is counting fingers at 1 or 3 feet, then Hand motions, Light perception, then No light perception.
Anything below count fingers is not of much functional use.

[dave_c]

From the article, http://insidetv.ew.com/2012/06/21/mas...

“From a medical standpoint, doctors call my vision ‘counting fingers.’ If you hold your hand 10 to 12 inches from my face, I could count your fingers as long as the lighting isn’t too dark or glaring. The way I often describe it is that it’s like if you take a really hot shower and then you look into the foggy bathroom mirror, where you only see vague shapes and shadows.”

[saeyedoc]

Even knowing she has CF (count fingers) vision, it doesnt' tell you everything. She could have a very small blind spot in the center causing the decrease, but still be very functional with good peripheral vision. Without good central vision, she would still have trouble seeing something she was cooking. Based on what I've seen and the fact that she uses a cane, I'd guess her peripheral vision is not good.

[scubadoo97]

I quick search revealed she has neuromyelitis optica. As you certainly know a demylenating disease kinda like MS.

It's amazing she can compete on the show. The cane may be more for the systemic peripheral neuropathy. Not sure.

Go Christine Go.

[saeyedoc]

Neuromyelitis Optica is very rare. I've been practicing for 25 years and have never seen a case, at least not that I know of. I don't recall even hearing about it until very recently. It sounds very similar to MS, so the visual involvement can be very variable.

[scubadoo97]

Never seen it either in 30 yrs. lots of MS though

[ilikefood]

Can you imagine how successful Ramsey's TV programs would be if the character he plays was always calm, always patient, constantly reassuring, encouraging, nurturing and devoid of expletives?
Next question: Do TV shows' ratings ever go to zero?

[JuniorBalloon]

I would prefer someone like Tom Collichio. He tells it like it is without the drama queen antics. Or even Nigel from So You Think You Can Dance. Greaat example of someone that holds people accountable, sets a high standard without demeaning the contestants.

[scubadoo97]

But it's one big drama show. From Ramsey to Bastianich and even Elliot, it's pure show to create drama. I actually laugh out loud at their antics. A strange kinda comedy but comedy it is.

[JuniorBalloon]

I can see that. It's a form of cringeworthy comedy. I have found myself laughing at the Joe B sneer. It is such an act. Does he even know how to cook? He's run a reastaurant, but that doesn't mean he ever spent time salting, stewing and working in a kitchen. If you had to choose one of them to have a throwdown with I'd pick Joe.

[chowser]

Sadly, he fills his niche. As a respected chef, you'd think he'd try to maintain some dignity and refrain from cheap antics but he hasn't. OTOH, he's laughing all the way to the bank with his many TV shows and his upcoming one on hotels.

[piccola]

Except the Aussie version of Masterchef has supportive, encouraging judges -- and is a huge success. So clearly there's enough drama to satisfy just through the challenges.

[acgold7]

So obviously they tailor the show for local audiences, or at least what they think the local audiences in each country will like. They may even be right. Masterchef (and HK) are continuing to dominate the nightly ratings here (of course they are running against reruns on the other nets) so the Fox execs are likely feeling pretty good about themselves. Would both shows do as well if all the phony drama and confrontation and weeping were toned down in favor of just honest competition and focusing on the food? Who knows?

But it is worth noting, I think, that Chef Hunter on FN was pulled after just a few short weeks and revamped into the much-phonier Chef Wanted, and they wouldn't have done that if the original, "real-er" version had been doing well.

[piccola]

I know, I just wonder whether audiences actually want as much drama as the producers seem to think. Because I remember much griping -- and not just from me -- over the craziness added to the last season of Top Chef. I mean, at some point, the fact that they're competing in a naturally stressful environment with high stakes should provide enough excitement.

[jhopp217]

I didn't read the rest of this either, but I assume I'm not alone in this. Wouldn't treating her differently be discrimination?

[Puffin3]

Is this the episode where Christine sets fire to the unhusked corn? Then her team rushs in and 'saves the day'? Where was her 'cough' helper? Having a smoke behind a hay bail? Did Christine then remove the burned corn and then cut the cobs up into only one three inch piece per plate? Any other contestant would be down the road. THAT is what offends me. GR and the producers are clearly dragging Christine's time out on the show simply for the ratings. If I were Christine I would be VERY insulted by that obvious 'cashing in' on her blindness. IMO there's a fine line between making sure there is as much a level playing field for the disabled as reasonably possible and using them to gain ratings. IMO GR and Co. have crossed that line in this case.

[jhopp217]

This was actually the week before. I think you're off on your assessment of Ramsey and co dragging it out for ratings. She's probably the second most talented cook on the show and her ability to produce what she does without the sight is inspiring. I think all of them, especially the surly Joe B have done nothing but praised her. I feel that more than anything they are showing her strengths and not her weaknesses. You have to admit, her ability to do in the same time limit, what the others are doing is amazing.

[dbrodbeck]

You know they have editors right? Sometimes these editors edit stuff. So we don't see every single thing, like say cutting a cob of corn. If you think a blind person cannot cut a cob of corn you must think very little of blind people. Had you actually seen the episode from this week, you would see that that was actually not that big a deal (the corn cob fire). Why you seem to think the fix is in for her, with no real evidence, is beyond me.

[Puffin3]

Then why haven't we seen her actually cut a piece of corn for instance? They show everyone else using their 'knife skills' or lack thereof. I've gone back and watched what the producers/editors have actually shown her doing and it's really not that much. When she made those perfectly done deep fried whatever they were to the perfect color/crispness we actually never saw her actually do anything. I'm not claiming she isn't 100% blind as she claims. I'm simply pointing out that she is obviously using the help of she 'helper' to do a lot of the actual work. BTW what production company in their right mind would allow a totally blind person within ten feet of a pot of smoking hot deep frying oil? Then in another episode her 'helper' stands back and lets the corn husks catch fire. Somethings wrong with that picture. I'm also not saying 'the fix is in' just that the editors and GR are playing a bit of a game with the viewer for ratings IMO.

[dbrodbeck]

We have seen her cut a lot of things. We have also seen her aide describe things to her. Blind people cook every day you know, they also have jobs, take the bus by themselves etc. I imagine she signed a release (as did all of them) about injury. You have no evidence that her aide is doing the work for her. You do however seem to have some sort of problem with her, why I do not know.(see http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/854844).

You might note that a contestant from this year commented on that thread that she " was given no extra time or was not given any special privilges. She was thrown into the fire exactly the same as everyone else".

[LindaWhit]

1. She's not totally blind.

2. Her helper is there to help her walk to various locations, to carry items for her from the pantry and to direct her as to where things are on the work space, NOT to do her cooking for her.

3. A contestant has already stated on his thread about MC (while he was a contestant) that Christine got NO SPECIAL PRIVILEGE, other than someone to help her walk/to from the pantry (or to an outside location) and tell her where things were at her work space.

3. You seem to have a bias against her. We get that.

[chowser]

Her team won. She could not be up for elimination. It has nothing to do with their wanting to cash in her being blind.

You seem far more offended by her blindness than any of the contestants, all of whom are supportive.

[Puffin3]

My grandfather was blinded in the war age 17. He lived into his seventies. My mother was once an executive with the National Institute For The Blind. BTW it was an unpaid job. We had dozens of people stay with us after they had cornea transplants while they recuperated. I don't need any lessons or opinions about my attitude towards blind people thank you. Many posts ago some one claimed she was "totally blind". Now some one says she's "not totally blind". Which is it? My "bias" is totally around the fact that some one isn't being completely up front. Christine herself says she sees things through a blurred/cloudy haze. Is that being "blind".

[dbrodbeck]

As has been pointed out to you in the other thread, below 20 / 200 acuity is legally blind in Canada (and I am pretty sure) the US. If things are a blurry haze (and she carries a white cane) she is clearly below that level of acuity. It has also been pointed out by a contestant on the darned show that she received no special treatment.

[mcf]

Bottom line is that her competitors view her as strong competition because her flavor profiles are judge to be amazingly good.

If anyone's continued presence deserved outrage on MC, it was Tali, whose handicap was turning out lousy food again and again. And he could SEE what he was doing.

[LindaWhit]

^^^ THAT (about Tali). ^^^

Christine remains humble about her capabilities, and continues to put out amazing looking food. Tali bragged about his capabilities, and very rarely showed he was as good as he claimed he was.

[LindaWhit]

I believe someone ASKED if she was totally blind. And as it was pointed out in a link of an interview with Christine, she herself said during that interview she wasn't totally blind. But there's a point whereby she cannot see anything but vague shapes - she's legally blind.

[chowser]

Yeah, I don't get the obsession of splitting hairs. Maybe all contestants need to submit to a vision test so we know exactly what they see?

[dave_c]

I agree... she is legally blind. It may not be pitch black, but she can't see either.

In one of the articles about Christine, she described her blindness as looking into a fogged bathroom mirror.

I imagine it's like having my glasses steam up when I'm pulling something out of the oven or draining pasta. I can see colors and vague shapes, but what's on the stovetop (if I remembered to clear a path for the roaster or I'm going to drop the roaster on a sauce pan) is not really visible.

[LindaWhit]

*Perfect* analogy using your eyeglasses steaming up when you pull something out of the oven. BTDT *very* often, and often have to pull off my glasses to see a less foggy version of what's in front of me until my eyeglasses clear.

[chowser]

I think of it more like being in the dusk, turning on the light and then turning it back off. You can almost make out the shapes but it's difficult. Either way, whether she's completely blind or not, the point is that she was never able to be up for elimination so the assertion that they're somehow milking this is far fetched.

[LindaWhit]

Yup. The "milking" comment was stretching it a LOT.

[chowser]

Not suggesting that you have a bias against ALL people who are blind, just against Christine's. She's legally blind--it's irrelevant to how well she cooks how blind she is. She has earned the respect of the other contestants and the judges. As to your point that they're milking her blindness by keeping her in for ratings,that was off base since she wasn't even eligible for elimination.

[jhopp217]

JB, do you have any idea how edited these things are? she could have been crying two hours before. Also, everyone cries on reality tv

[lifeasbinge]

aha! the burning "question" about "reality TV" - "is it real?" of course it's real, there's no way that contestants on Survivor are sitting down to a nice breakfast of steak and eggs after the camera stops rolling. chunk of the Brooklyn Bridge, anyone? cheap?

[jhopp217]

I don;t watch survivor, but always found it weird how some people look like they lose 30lbs and some look like they lost 2. Seems odd

[NellyNel]

Yeah, I love christine, but should he be nicer to her than he is to everyone else because she is blind?
huh?
That doesnt make sense.

Even if you had said "Shame on GR for making a person cry"
it would be silly, because these people willingly put themselves on the show, and they know what they are in for..

[dbrodbeck]

Exactly. We disabled folks, well many of us anyway, want to be treated like everyone else. She need not be treated with kid gloves, that would be offensive actually.

[Lizard]

Yes. Thank you.

[pine time]

She even said she doesn't want to be anyone's role model or inspiration, just another great home cook. Love the lady.

[piccola]

Yeah, I don't think Christine should get special treatment because she's blind. I was annoyed that he made her cry, but more because she's my favourite.

[NellyNel]

eh - at some point ALL of the contestants cry.
I watched the episode closely (after I read this thread) and from what we saw, he wasn't mean to her!
I mean compared to how GR and JB usually are - he was quite nice about it.
Her food did look terrible.
I think she was crying because she knew she performed badly, not because GR was mean to her.

[chowser]

I don't mind criticisms, etc. and even those mean spirited ones can be a learning experience. What I hate is when they play with people who are safe and make them seem like they're not. It's pointless. I think Christine was crying both because she knew she made a terrible dish and that she thought she was going home for a dish that wasn't up to her standard. I have the feeling she wouldn't have been as upset if she had done her best and everyone did better. Her being blind is irrelevant to the whole thing. Her being nice/modest/talented, OTOH, matters to me because it makes me pull for her.

[JuniorBalloon]

+1 to it having nothing to do with her being blind and all about her being nice/modest/talented. I screwed this post up royally from not alerting spoilers, to using phrasing that focused on her blindness, when for me it was never about that. Just annoyed with the berating the contestants get in general. Even though they signed up for it, it makes it less enjoyable.

[chowser]

I agree--I hate the berating. I know they do it for ratings but I'd like it so much better if they were civil.

[LindaWhit]

Agree to the less enjoyable. I've heard MC Australia is civil, as are other Ramsay shows filmed/showed in Great Britain. The supposed "drama" that continually gets added to American shows gets rather tiring.

[Harters]

LW

You're right about his British programmes. His TV persona was set early on by the foul language but more recent stuff is considerably toned down. Of course, he still uses foul language - but it is more just in the way that some working class younger Britons do speak, rather than for effect.

By the by, he doesnt do Masterchef, either here or Australia.

[pine time]

But, the added drama (esp. with Hell's Kitchen), is a sad commentary on us Americans. Evidently, we want all that, 'cause if it didn't sell here, the producers would make the shows more like the ones in Australia or Great Britain.

[LindaWhit]

I know. There are fewer of us who would prefer to see good cooking vs. the DRAAAAAMAHHH, so the producers go that way. ::::sigh::::

[chicgail]

It's FOX.

[LindaWhit]

WHY do people keep saying that?

It can be said about ANY station that airs reality shows. CBS does it with Big Brother or The Amazing Race or Survivor, The Food Network does it with TNFNS, Lifetime does it with Project Runway, Bravo does it with Top Chef, The Real Housewives, MTV does it with Jersey Shore, ABC does it with Extreme Home Makeover, NBC has it with The Apprentice, etc.

Fox doesn't have the exclusive lock on "added drama," you know.

[acgold7]

People keep saying that because, as bad as most "reality" TV is, and as fake and phony and over-the-top as it is, that little odious dwarf Mike Darnell, who runs reality at FOX, is the guy who pioneered the stop-at-nothing-to-show-the-humiliation-of-participants programming. IIRC, he actually got booted out of Fox at one point because he went too low even for them, for doing something like a dwarf-tossing contest, but their ratings plummeted, so they brought him back and promoted him. He is now President of Reality and ranked the third most powerful guy in Reality TV. It is thanks to him that Fox has, and always will have, the reputation of being willing to sink lower and willing to stop at nothing for ratings. And it has been very profitable for them.

[LindaWhit]

Umm, this isn't a game of "who started it" (sounds like third graders pointing fingers on a playground). They are ALL in the same sandbox flinging cat poop.

I repeat - Fox doesn't have the exclusive lock on "added drama".

[acgold7]

No, you're right, they all do it, but you asked why people always assume Fox is the worst offender, and that's why. They made their reputation as the net that pushes the boundaries of good taste and outrageousness more than any other (Married With Children, When Animals Attack) and they tenaciously cling to that reputation, that's all. It's not wrong of people to remember that.

I don't see anybody pointing fingers or acting like a third-grader here. You asked a question and I gave you the answer.

[LindaWhit]

MTV was pushing boundaries with The Real World before Fox got into reality programming. The pointing fingers is ONLY at Fox. Not at any other station for playing lemming and following along.

Look - I know it's all about the almighty dollar with all of these networks. But regardless of WHO started it, they ALL do it. Pointing fingers at just one station as the source of all that is bad on TV is rather silly at this point.

[acgold7]

Fox had already raised the ire of the Parents Television Council with Married With Children in 1987 or so, when it premiered, while The Real World on MTV didn't premiere until 1992. So their reputation for outrageousness predates their entry into reality, sort of, although COPS clearly was treading new ground and pushing the boundaries at that time as well.

No one is saying Fox is the only Network (not station) that amps up the phony drama in "reality" programming... at least that's not what I'm getting from these and other posts. But I think the perception is that it's a matter of degree and Fox is willing to go further than anyone else (in the broadcast world -- cable is another story), and I think that perception is justified based on what Fox has gleefully (pun intended) done in the past with both its narrative and its reality programming.

But again, I agree with you -- I think we all do -- that everyone does this to some extent, and there is nothing real about reality programming. But there is a spectrum -- Survivor is, for example, quite different from, say, The Bachelor (sad when Survivor is the "class act" of the genre).

I was really only trying to address the question of why people think the standards are "lower" for Fox, and again it is because Fox relishes and cultivates this perception. I did not at all perceive the post that started this all to be an assertion that only Fox does this.

[lifeasbinge]

"fair and balanced"

[acgold7]

You DO realize that's the motto of a completely different network, and they're constantly at war with one another, don't you? FBC and FNC hate each other.

FBC makes no claim to be either.

[piccola]

It seems cruel, sometimes, how they mess with the contestants re: who stays and who goes. I mean, the suspense is high enough without them trying to psych people out.

[chowser]

And we only see a fraction of it. You can imagine what they go through.

[chicgail]

Nobody MAKES anyone else cry. Even Gordon Ramsay. People do or say what they do and someone else does or doesn't cry.

Think about it. GR said some really not-nice stuff to Tali, but Tali didn't cry. He just popped right up again like a blow-up clown spouting the same silly stuff he'd been saying. It just ain't up to GR whether someone cries or not.

Nobody can make someone else happy or sad or angry. It's an illusion. If it were true then we'd all be victims of everyone else and with no control over how we are at any given moment.

[randyjl]

I wont watch any show with Gordon Ramsay because he is so rude and the bleeped f-bombs are not ever necessary IMHO.

[chicgail]

His behavior - at least as directed and edited on-screen - offends me, too. But he doesn't' make anyone do anything.

[chowser]

Being affected by the opinion of someone you respect doesn't make a person a victim. It means we value that person's opinions and not just our own. That's why Tali is so unaffected by comments. He thinks so highly of himself that he doesn't value anyone else's opinion, even the professionals. He's the perfect example of why I'd hate to be completely unaffected by others.

[piccola]

I agree. What I meant was, I was annoyed that she was upset -- because I like her and she's good, not because she's blind.

[chicgail]

I felt badly that she was upset also. She had no valid reason to be. I suspect that the producers, off-screen, prime people for that kind of on-camera reaction.

[JuniorBalloon]

Philosophically I agree with you chicgail, but a person can try, which says more about them than the person they target.

[acgold7]

The first of the final three to be called out is always made to twist. The whole point is that she shouldn't get special treatment because she is blind.

And can we please make sure to indicate the real subject matter and "spoilers" in the headline, just in case someone who hasn't yet seen the episode happens to click on a vague and non-specific title and read too much, too soon?

[JuniorBalloon]

Sorry ac, you're right I should have indicated. I'm new at starting spoiler threads. It's not that she's blind, more that she's nice, humble person. I wish he'd made Talli cry. That would have been entertaining. Sort of. I just don't care for the gratutitous, mean spirited side of these shows. Spitting out food and throwing stuff in the garbage can.

[LindaWhit]

Yes, I read the initial post earlier today as the subject line was completely non-specific, and wasn't too happy, as I hadn't had a chance to see Monday's show yet. :-/

[JuniorBalloon]

Yes, very sorry about that. I'lll do better next time. I see that the All Star game pre-empted MC. Is the normal Tues episode going to run on another night or will they just run a Mon/Tue pair next week, bascially reversing the order of the shows. Group challenge then Mystery box?

[LindaWhit]

That's what it looks like per the online TV Guide. Group challenge at the rodeo, as we saw in the previews for Monday night.

And then dear Lord, please help me NOT gag.....Paula Deen is going to be there on Tuesday for a mystery box challenge. ::::hork!::::::

[ennuisans]

WHY DOES PAULA DEEN HAVE TO RUIN EVERYTHING

First butter now this

[iL Divo]

I think because she's a hot topic right now. The diabetic subject-weight loss etc.
Why else would she show up on all these cooking food related shows?
and they did seem to enjoy her being there.

[acgold7]

I must admit I felt a little sickened by all the gooing and fawning over her. Yes, she's huge celebrity, and people love her, but it's not like she's Eric Ripert or Jacques Pepin or anything.

[NellyNel]

I was a bit embarassed by all the fawning as well, but on MC, they don't usually have "guest" judges, or celebrities, so I guess it was a bit of a surprise for them.

I am not very familar with PD, and her voice was so annoying to me, I am surprised people enjoy watching her so much...
(she may be a lovely woman but that voice!)

[jhopp217]

To be honest, I love the show, but neither are the three hosts of the show. Ripert is a freaking genius. Pepin is a god!

[piccola]

I'm actually a little surprised they didn't mention that at all. I thought for sure there would be a "make this healthier" challenge so that she could talk about making "lifestyle changes."

[LindaWhit]

Ahh, yes. Those "lifestyle changes". :-)

I'm wondering when MC was taped. She came out about her diabetes in mid-January. Perhaps this was filmed before then?

[ennuisans]

Come to think of it, Paula Deen merchandizes pretty heavily with Walmart, a company which I recall being mentioned on MC from time to time.

[piccola]

Good point! I hadn't thought about that. But it would mean she anticipated needing positive PR even before she made her big announcement... That's some long-term strategizing.

[Dave_in_PA]

you're assuming it's real?

[JuniorBalloon]

Real!? {gasp} Dave, what are you saying?