My Hero Comes Back

Half a year ago, I posted about my new favorite show, Kitchen Nightmares. Like all shows that feature a British protagonist, I figured the show must have been adapted from a British show, but I'd never seen it. However, I now have BBC America on my cable, so I'm able to watch the original show, Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares. And I must say that it's actually a better show.

Like every show on Fox, Kitchen Nightmares is designed and edited to be nothing but Ramsay shouting and acting like a general lunatic: "After the break, see what crazy shit Gordon does next!" The British version, of course, is much more subtle. Oh sure, every other word out of Ramsay's mouth is "shit" or "fuck," and there is a fair amount of shouting, but the show isn't solely about that. This show is actually about Ramsay trying to fix these restaurants, not just about him going apeshit on their owners. If you pay attention, there's a lot of tips about how to run a successful restaurant, like how to maximize food profits and how to push food with short prep times in order to offset the high prep time foods. And it's funny; the show actually highlights the fact that Ramsay's a pretty funny guy who yells and swears a lot.

Regardless of which version you're able to watch, you should watch it. So, check it out the original on BBC America or catch the American version on Fox when it starts up again next week.

I can't wait.