I did it – Well, the wife and I did it – We watched all 13 seasons of The Great British Bake-Off, or Show, depending on where you are. That was a lot of baking, and a lot of British culture. We watched the show together on our lunch breaks, so we only got about half an episode done a day. The show has ebbed, and flowed several times, and gone from too serious to too silly a few times as well. In the end, I still enjoy the show, and I will be looking forward to the 14th season which should premiere in September 2023.
To start with, the first two seasons of Bake-Off are awful, and no offense to the winners, are a slog to get through. The show that became the international hit hadn’t figured out its footing, nor it’s direction yet. It over all feels very American, as conflict is played up more, and it’s also a sort of an educational show – teaching the audience the history of the foods that are being baked. What I did find interesting is that they seemed to have nailed the music from the start, and pretty much have been using the same themes ever since. Luckily, after two seasons of feeling it out, they landed on what worked.
What worked well, and is very refreshing, is that Bake-Off is still the nicest show on television. For what is basically a reality gameshow, the competitive nature of the contestants are playdown, and good sportsmanship is played up. The bakers are often shown coming to each other’s aid, and cheering each other on when they do well. There are no snide comments, or backhanded compliments displayed. All the bakers are given an opportunity to be shown as decent, friendly people that you enjoy spending time with.
And that brings me to what makes the show so enjoyable season after season – the bakers. Bake-Off doesn’t go into detail about the bakers lives outside of the tent. Small details are given in the first few episodes, and the final, but outside of that, we are left to form our opinions about the bakers based on their bakes, and how they behave in the tent. There are no political discussions, nothing about sports or religion. Any subject matter that could divide people is avoided. We get twelve people who just want to bake. And for that, I am impressed with the casting of this show. Not only have the producers continually found charming and interesting people season after season, but they have also done an excellent job of showing Britain as a modern multi-cultural society, where everyone gets along and respects each other. In it’s very subtle way, this show whispers in our ear that we actually do have more in common than what divides us.
Looking back at the UK ratings, Season 7 was their all-time high, with Season 6 being the runner up, which makes sense as Bake-Off was in the middle of their “salad days” at this point. I would argue that if you are going start watching the show, Season 5 to 9 is the run you want to partake in. This is especially impressive as starting with Season 8, the show undertook a radical change with the switching of broadcast channels, losing Mary Berry who was replaced with Prue Leith, and then the hosts Mel and Sue were replaced with Noel and Sandi. What could have been a stumble instead was a seamless continuation of the show.
And with that switch in judge and hosts, I am torn. For one, though I do enjoy Prue as judge along with Paul Hollywood, they seem to be a team that “gets along” with respect of judging bakes. Mary Berry had a steeliness to her, where she had no issue with disagreeing with Paul, and digging in if he disagreed with her. It was the only time in the show where there could be tension between personalities, and it worked for the show. As for the hosts, I wasn’t a fan of Mel and Sue. They are two very funny comedians outside of the show, but in the tent they often pulled attention away from the bakers and the bakes by trying to be funny, or ending everything with a pun or a button. My preferred team was Noel and Sandi, but Sandi especially. They made a good “odd couple” paring, but what made them work was Sandi connection to the bakers. She came across more as a friend than a host as when she would talk bakers down from a cliff, or encourage them to continue on. And when Sandi had to announce who wouldn’t be coming back next week, and she would get choked up and cry, it felt like that was coming from an honest place in her. Noel did come around to Sandi’s level of connection, but when she left after Season 10, her replacement of Matt had rather big shoes to fill, no pun intended. What had worked in the past was the classic comedy pairing of straight man and wild card, but with Matt and Noel it was two wildcards which pulled attention away from the bakers. And Matt relied quite heavily on “Paul’s a mean guy” jokes. Entering Season 14, we will get a new co-host in Alison Hammond, and we’ll see how her and Noel get on.
But when you go through thirteen seasons, you do start to see where some things have gone slightly off the rails. I point directly at Season 9, which also happens to be my personal favorite season. This was the moment when the show started moving toward more gimmick baking – just crazy shit to see how the bakers handle it. This was the season that had a biscuit chandelier which a baker pointed out wasn’t a thing, and made up for the show. Also, in the final episode, the three bakers had to “bake” on a camp fire outside of the tent. A stunt that has never been repeated, and for clear reasons as the bakers didn’t do well, and their annoyance was clearly visible. In earlier seasons, the bakers were asked to create bakes that were based on actually oven bakes, or techniques that revolved around baking. After Season 9, more and more gimmicks or “theme” weeks came into play, which didn’t add anything to the show. This finally blew up in the shows face with Season 13’s “Mexican Week,” which Tejal Rao criticized as “casually racist,” while I was confused why the bakers were making “tack-o’s?” It was a misstep on a show that should have known better.
What I hope will happen in Season 14 is that Bake-Off sticks to what works, which is casting interesting people from the UK who love baking. And I also hope they get back to what has worked; letting the bakers bake – no more gimmicks. Because at the end of the day, what I look forward to in Bake-Off is an hour of comfort food television; I don’t have to think too hard, there is no one to root against, and I get the celebrate someone who is good at what they do.
Matthew Groff 