Bingeworthy: The Great British Baking Show

Sunday is Great British Baking Show day! This is my second year watching and I'm obsessed. The shows selects from amongst its contestants the best amateur baker. There are a ton of messes, a ton of unexpected wonderful things, and overall it is a really fun show to watch.

Things that rock:

The hosts and judges - The show has two judges: cookery writer Mary Berry and professional baker Paul Hollywood, and two hosts, Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins. There's something to be said for hosts and judges staying the same every week. When they really like something, you can tell the bakers want to fly away in happiness. When they don't like something, they really explain why. You can't hide anything from them, and I think their feedback from each challenge makes them into better bakers (which honestly should be the point of all baking shows!). The hosts are witty and clever, and sometimes even jump in to help lift something or lend a quick hand. They too, just want everyone to do well, and to only go home because they didn't do as well as someone else. 

I mean doesn't that sound awesome?!?!?!

The shows format - Each show the bakers get three chances to impress the judges . These three challenges are then each taken into consideration of who goes home, with the last challenge weighted most heavily.  The first two are quicker two hour challenges that take place in one day.The third day is the big showpiece challenge.  The first and third challenges they get to practice at home and bring recipes and then the second short challenge is the technical challenge where they have to read a recipe with little to no direction. In addition, each episode has a theme. The one I'm watching today is my favorite, pie =) Another favorite of mine is the photos they show of what each baker is going to try to make (see above). Best bonus - no commercials! Thanks PBS.

The bakers - They're so different and unique! You have bakers of all ages, genders and etc. They consistently drop great lines that make you laugh and wish you were there in that tent with them. In between each challenge their interviews make you want to be their friend. Even though I have a favorite or two, I often root for everyone, because they're all so nice. They often help each other and I like that spirit more than letting someone sink. One of my favorite bakers is still in school and does her practicing in her dorm room. 

Last seasons final three

True life connection -  I love this show because it honestly shows how hard it can be to do the most simple things as a baker.  I've also learned so much about pastry outside the US. Last season they had hot water crust and I had never heard of it before. The idea of making a pastry crust which normally needs to be ice cold with hot water blew my mind. I think everything about the show is well done and I need to find a way to try and watch the first four seasons I didn't see! 

If you'd like to watch, you can see The Great British Baking Show on PBS at 7pm (central time). 

Get ready, set, BAKE!

Bingeworthy: Who is the Mole?

I'm always down for binge watching my favorite shows. The best of all time is, hands down, MTV's the Challenge. A very close second is ABC's the Mole. The Mole hasn't aired since 2005 which was, insanely to me, ten years ago! The basis of the show is this:

There are 14 players who have never met, chosen to travel and complete challenges for money. However, there is one player acting as a saboteur, trying to keep money from the pot. Every episode players compete to add money to the pot, and then take a 10-question quiz that tests the players knowledge of the Mole’s identity. The player who gets the least amount of questions right is ‘executed’ and must leave the game immediately. The last player remaining then wins all of the money accumulated into the group pot.

Reasons for awesome:

#1: The hosts are amazing. The show started off with a sassy Anderson Cooper for two seasons. Check out that smolder.

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after Anderson came Ahmad Rashād and then Jon Kelley.  Also experts in sass.

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Jon explains to the players that they need to jump over a waterfall for this bag that could be money, or could be nothing. 

#2: The cast, to me, were some of the most real original crazy characters. When the show started it was similar to early Survivor or The Real World in the way that people didn't really care what they wore, or how perfect their makeup was. They were still pretty "real". The Mole also casts people of all ages, ethnic backgrounds, and genders.

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The first challenge, still slightly trusting of each other, season two.

#3: Producers did some crazy stuff! Especially for the early 2000's. 80% of challenges involved the contestants looking dumb and being surrounded by people who all speak a foreign language. Contestants really never knew what was going to happen next. 

#4: Celebrity versions! The third and fourth seasons featured celebrity contestants instead of average citizens. My favorites included Dennis Rodman, Kathy Griffin, and hottie Eric Von Detten from my childhood favorite movie: Brink!

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#5: The game itself was new and original. It was something you hadn't seen on TV before. If you were smart, you had some advantages in quiz taking, but even then you still had to guess 90% of the time. Quizzes made the players take notes about everything including the color of the Mole's pants, the order in which you were standing, or if someone drank wine at dinner. Some seasons the producers would then burn the journals you were keeping these much needed notes in or make you trade with another player, leaving you with what you could remember.

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Paul remembers nothing, but knows who the Mole is! Lucky Paul.

Random Mole trivia I found while writing this: Season 2 premiered on September 28th 2001 and was taken off the schedule after 3 episodes due to the mood of the country post 9-11 and poor ratings. It then returned in June 2002 with the first 4 episodes shown in 2 hour blocks on successive days to get the audience caught up. The reunion show at the end is held a year after the show finished filming.

If you're a fan of the Amazing Race, you'll probably love the Mole. Travel is a huge part of the game and they go to great places. You can buy the first season and the third season on DVD, but sadly the rest you have to search YouTube for. I barely have the full collection via the internet but it's taken me a long time. The Mole however, is very very worth the trouble.