Category: Television

  • ODDS and ENDS: “Baking Show” is Good Again, Kid’s Cold, and the World Series

    (I wish I spent more time at the office…)

    I am a fan of The Great British Baking Show (or Great British Bake Off, if you will) and I have written about the show several times. I know I am not the first to write this, and I won’t be the last, but Baking Show is good again. At least three episodes in. There is always a chance it could go off the rails, but from what I have seen so far, the changes have been working. Because what I want, and I think most fans want as well, is to not think too hard about Baking Show. It’s there, it’s fun, entertaining, pleasant, and nice. And so far, that’s what has been delivered. I’m enjoying the show and not thinking too hard. Is it because of the new host, Alison? Maybe. Is it because they cast more engaging bakers? Possibly. Is it because the bake challenges are less gimmicky? Could be. What I do know is that after the kid goes to bed, the wife and I will get a drink, watch Baking Show, and not think about the difficulties of our week for about an hour. And for me, that’s when Baking Show is at its best. And I’m pulling for Saku to win.

    We are now back to the time of the year when the kid has been around other kids long enough at school that they are now trading colds. She got a cough as of last week, and it made its way to the wife. But I kept up my hand washing and cleaning, so I thought I was outta the woods. But kid colds are the most infections of all colds. I got the bug, but I’m still not 100% sure it is a full blown cold; stuffy nose, sinus drainage, side of the neck is sore… But other than that, I feel fine. But I didn’t go to the gym this week, you know, so not to get other people sick. It was the least I could do.

    The World Series starts tonight. Texas vs Arizona, and I won’t be watching. Nothing personal, it’s just that I don’t have anything invested in either team. Now, if it gets to a game 7, I’ll watch that. I do hate to miss a happening.

  • ODDS and ENDS: Blame the Mother, Khaki Pants, and Things I was Wrong About

    (Sugar Ray say…)

    Last night I was having drinks with a friend, and old friend from high school, so we have known each other forever. We got on the topic of parental roles, as she feels that as a mother, she inevitably always gets blamed by her kid for everything. (Our kids are pretty close in age.) I don’t think she’s wrong, mom’s do take the brunt of blame, at least that’s what my mom claimed all the time. But, I wondered if one’s parental role plays a factor? My friend and her husband both work, and split equally parenting their kid; both cook, clean, do laundry, do homework, go to playdates, and dance classes…etc. While in our household, my wife works, and I take care of the kid and home. So, I feel like I take the brunt of blame from the kid, which I attribute to spending the most time being with the kid on a given day. As such, our discussion fell along those lines; is parental blame due to gender roles, or quantity of time spent with the kid? I don’t think there is a clear answer to this other than when our kids do something right, the first person they thank is always mom.

    I have to buy khaki pants soon. The pants have seen better days, as I purchased them right before Covid. (Because Covid is a designation of time, and not just an event.) I used to never own khaki pants. Like, went out of my way not to own any. I think it was due to those stupid GAP swing dancing commercials in the 90’s. (I wonder how many of those people in that commercial are now teaching dance classes?) Then I job a job, and I started wearing a tie, and a sports coat, and I got khaki pants to go along with the whole thing. Now, I have the same number of khaki pants as I do jeans. Funny how life changes you.

    Speaking of which…

    I can admit now that I was wrong about a couple of things:

    1. Sugar Ray
    2. The Texas Rangers this Season
    3. Jasper Johns

  • The Scourge of Dads Who Rap

    This morning as I was walking my daughter to school, she started talking to me about what she considers her “look.” You know, the fashion and style the uniquely defines who she is. Right now, that would be carpenter pants, tee-shirts, and over-sized cardigan sweaters. (Let’s go 90’s!) Then I told her that I used to dress sort of the same way back in high school. And to a degree, my go to look is still jeans, tee-shirts and a sweater.

    I became curious, so I asked if I had a “look” that was apparent?

    I was told that I dress like a dad.

    Is that cool? I followed.

    No.

    Is it embarrassing?

    Not really.

    Is it as embarrassing as a dad rap?

    She grew puzzled. What’s a dad rap?

    You don’t know what a dad rap is?!?!? I was honestly shocked that this had not entered on the radar of my kids life.

    For those of you who don’t know, this is the best example of “Dad Rap” I know of:

    Yes, back in the late 80’s and early 90’s, us kids were subjected to the scourge of dads trying to rap. Just as in the clip, dads would turn the baseball caps around, do weird things with their hands, and always, and I mean ALWAYS, use the “I’m (dad’s name) and I’m here to say…” line.

    I guess it was always meant as a joke by dads. The cringe factor, and trying to embarrass your kids. But it happened so often. Like, at school, PTA meetings, at church, at friend’s houses, little league games; anywhere there was a dad and a group of kids, a dad rap was bound to show up.

    And the other thing that The Simpsons gets 100% Right, are the kids begging for Homer to stop and promise never to do that again. I think the only thing missing would have been a kid angrily reminding their dad that they’re not cool.

    I was lucky enough that my dad never did anything like this. (No, his song that he’d sing to embarrass us was “Doo Wah Diddy.”) But even though he didn’t rap, I do remember thinking as I watched Kevin’s dad rap about putting hotdogs on the grill, that I would never dad rap in front of my kid, let alone their friends.

    So, as we walked to school, I tried to explain to my kid what dads rapping was, why kids hated it, and how it was so awful and embarrassing. I wasn’t doing that great of a job, because, devilishly, she asked me to do a dad rap, so she could know for sure what it was like.

    So I did it. I did the “I’m Matt Groff, and I’m here to say…” line. Followed with, “I love my daughter in a major way.” I turned my ballcap around. I did weird had gestures.

    It did make the kid laugh.

    But she made me promise never to do that again.

  • ODDS and ENDS: Autumn Morning, Lunch with Friends, and Sports Season

    (In this house, we narrate the dog’s thoughts.)

    Finally, and I mean FINALLY, it was an Autumn Morning around here in New York City. It was in the upper fifties, there was a breeze, you could put a sweater on – all the boxes were checked. For me, a person who hates the heat and humidity of Summer, this was like my birthday and Christmas morning all wrapped in one. Now we can turn the A/C’s off, leave the windows open, hell, maybe even have a cup of hot tea in the afternoon, but that one might still be a month off. Anyway, the season has changed. We are no longer stuck in something, but moving towards something different, and new.

    The other day, a friend from college was in town, and we got together for lunch. This particular friend I hadn’t seen in close to ten years, so I was looking forward to catching up. It was a good time, and I wish it could have been longer, but we made the most of what we had. As I get older, and have more of these catchups with friends, I am still impressed with how much people can change, while at the same time still stay that core person I met twenty years ago.

    It’s sports season for me, which on some level still feels odd for me to say. Growing up, my identity was brooding artist, so I couldn’t like sports. I have evolved out of that (A story for another day) and now I find myself enjoying the sports time of year. The Premiere League has started, as has the NFL. And let’s not forget about the Champions League and all of their exciting corrupt bullshit that is amazing to watch. Baseball is heading for the playoffs, and I will flirt around with following the Knicks, but I never go through with it. As I was sketching out this idea, I started wondering why have I latched on to sports so much in the last ten years? What is it about being middle aged and following as many different competitions as possible? I wonder if there is something to not wanting to admit that the people playing all of these sports are half my age, and by living through their accomplishments, I attempt to regain youthful physicality? Ha! I was never physical! I think it’s because sports are the only appointment TV left.

  • Personal Review: The Great British Bake-Off

    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.