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[JoshuaJSlone]

So the Iron Chef America special they did last year was at least well enough received that they've decided to have a try at making it a regular series, which begins in one half hour (in the eastern half of North America anyway) on Food Network.

Format seems it will be very similar to the special. Mario Batali and Bobby Flay return as American Iron Chefs and Alton Brown is still the commentator. Wolfgang Puck is out of the lineup, though, replaced by Masaharu Morimoto.

Unfortunately this first episode features Bobby Flay... I guess we can't have it all.

 

[sc0la]

did you see the four prolouge eps they did America V Japan.

For the big one they did teams then flipped it on them at the last second so it was morimoto + Flay vs. Batali + I forgot.

 

[LakeEarth]

Same avatar overload!

 

[sc0la]

WTF. THose sentences were not even in english. I apalogize. Maybe I should go to sleep.

 

[MetatronM]

From everything I've seen, Iron Chef America is pretty decent. It's still sort of a shell of the original, but it's not bad.

I really wish Alton had a partner on commentary, though. You can only listen to one man talk about food trivia for so long.

EDIT: Bobby Flay sucks. I don't think he's had a battle yet between the specials and this first episode were he didn't SERIOUSLY screw something up.

 

[SolidSnakex]

EDIT: Bobby Flay sucks. I don't think he's had a battle yet between the specials and this first episode were he didn't SERIOUSLY screw something up.

He always thought they were trying to sabotage his stuff. I remember in the 2nd IC battle he had with Morimoto, he accused them of rigging his appliances to electicute him.

 

[Shogmaster]

My PVR is ready to record baby. Hopefully it's better than the specials they had last year.

 

[Shogmaster]

So far, pretty good. Alton is doing a great job of commentary. Interesting battle. Flay is even impressing me.

Judgment coming up!

 

[Shogmaster]

Spoiler

Flay by a point.

Hmmm..... doesn't show individual judge's scores. Seems a bit dodgy...

Oh well. Still a fun show. Done pretty well. Has the same frantic and exciting feel of the Japanese original, if not the quirk. I'll be a regular.

 

[Nikashi]

I like the show, but where's the goddamn crowd? The original Japanese version had a nice crowd around, that added to the atmosphere. Oh well, at least it's about 1000% better than "Iron Chef USA"

 

[ckohler]

Not bad. I'll continue watching.

Still, I why don't they follow the original's formula more closely?! Nikashi is right, where's the audience? There should be two announcers, the main announcer and the food expert.. not just the expert. The celebrity judges should be discussing the meals as they're cooking. Don't recap the action every time you come back from freaking commercial! Show the finished dishes right before the tasting, not before each serving. Where's the "swooosh" sound before and after the commercials?

It's the little stuff like this that I miss.

 

[Soybean]

I liked Iron Chef USA. It was campy.

 

[0wn3d]

Not bad. I'll continue watching.

Still, I why don't they follow the original's formula more closely?! Nikashi is right, where's the audience? There should be two announcers, the main announcer and the food expert.. not just the expert. The celebrity judges should be discussing the meals as they're cooking. Don't recap the action every time you come back from freaking commercial! Show the finished dishes right before the tasting, not before each serving. Where's the "swooosh" sound before and after the commercials?

It's the little stuff like this that I miss.

I like how Morimoto is part of the Iron Chef America team. That will keep me watching.

I missed the beginning. Did the challenger get to pick his chef, or was it already predetermined?

The show was pretty entertaining, but I agree 100% with ckohler. Also, the chairman is boring and lacks the emotion Kaga put into it.

 

[Shogmaster]

The show was pretty entertaining, but I agree 100% with ckohler. Also, the chairman is boring and lacks the emotion Kaga put into it.

I'm actually more concern about what the show will do to Mark Dacascos' career. That mofo is the most fluid, commanding and impressive martial arts actor who can actually speak perfect english (basically not from Hong Kong). I always wanted to see him in an action flick with decent pedegree, and with this gig changing his career path, maybe the closest I'll get is The Brotherhood of the Wolf.

Hopefully the show won't sideline his acting career. Someone give this man an action movie with real budget!

 

[Crazymoogle]

I missed the beginning. Did the challenger get to pick his chef, or was it already predetermined?

The chairman chooses, and that's immediately followed by pre-taped bits of one challenger talking about the other, so I imagine it was set in stone even prior to taping the choice. They also didn't name the iron chefs beyond their real names, which was odd.

As for the show itself, according to the newspaper the original Iron Chef USA attempt was a UPN production after Food Network turned down an offer by Fuji TV (the owners of Iron Chef) to make an american version of the show. This time around the network was apparently more than willing to give it a try.

I'm not terribly impressed with the show but I'd like to see Morimoto in a future ep kick some ass.

 

[Tazznum1]

Do they have an annoying guy that buts in every minute or so?

If not, then I'll pass.

 

[Blazyr]

I hope it's better, but something is missing without Chairman Kaga.

And for the love of God please 86 Flay. My wife and I haven't been able to stand him since he first surfaced on Grillin and Chillin. His stunts on Iron Chef have just been humiliating. The man has no class, dignity or respect.

 

[Tazznum1]

I hate Bobby Flay. No personality, no talent and he's annoying.

 

[Inumaru]

It warms my heart to see so much hate for Bobby Flay. That guy's a hack if there ever was one. Calling him an "Iron Chef" and pretending he's on the same technical or artistic level as Batali, Morimoto, or Puck is insulting. His win in the prologue was, as always, a completely predetermined fraud.

However, I am surprised that this new series seems relatively well done. Obviously they're trying pretty hard to stay true to the original, more or less, and Alton Brown is a great choice. The new Chairman is pretty damned boring, but at least he's not offensive.

One major thing: where's Shinichiro Ota! I don't care for the way they have that current guy doing things. Ota was a major part of the "feel" of the original, it'd be cool if they had the new guy trying to do things the same way, listing ingredients and not bothering the chefs during the competition like he does now. It's more fun to try to figure out what they're making than to ask them and have them just tell us!

 

[MetatronM]

One major thing: where's Shinichiro Ota! I don't care for the way they have that current guy doing things. Ota was a major part of the "feel" of the original, it'd be cool if they had the new guy trying to do things the same way, listing ingredients and not bothering the chefs during the competition like he does now. It's more fun to try to figure out what they're making than to ask them and have them just tell us!

I agree. The guy they have now is a moron. "Hey, the Iron Chef says he's using ______/making ______. What the hell does that mean, Alton?!"

Just tell me the damn ingredients and let Alton speculate.

 

[Zelda-Bitch]

Nothing is better then the original! Long live IRON CHEF!

 

[Smiles and Cries]

damn I am going to miss this... I need a TV

it has been so great without a tv though I even took the time to write a book

 

[sprsk]

today is monday...

 

[fennec fox]

So is there no Chairman Kaga-type person?

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

So is there no Chairman Kaga-type person?

There's a Chairman who's supposed to be his nephew, but he doesn't dress so flamboyantly.

And it sounds really really really corny when before the battle he says something like "In the words of my uncle... allez cuisine!"