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MasterChef 2.0 is coming

If you think MasterChef has lost a bit of soul this year you're not alone -but there are already plans to restore its brand for 2012.

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It’s been almost impossible to ignore the growing dissent over this year’s edition of MasterChef.

The show has been attracting good numbers but viewers and critics have been expressing their disappointment in the series.

Favouring certain contestants, unfair Immunity challenges, dull contestants, uninspiring dishes, accidental Spoilers, strict behind-the-scenes rules, unnecessary lockdowns -the list of complaints grows with each passing week. Dani’s cook-off against Eamon Sullivan this week saw a major backlash amid cries he is not a professional chef.

But at the heart of the problem has been a shift from celebrating the talents of ordinary Aussies to raising the bar higher and higher -to levels of incredulity. The drama no longer emerges from a contestant’s ability to rise to their own ambitions but in trying to top the shock-and-awe of a previous challenge.

While the judges try and tell us this is ‘tough love’ in the grooming of a professional chef, it’s hard to know how “lockdown” in a New York hotel room contributes to character. What’s next, Siberian salt mines?

All of this contrasts enormously to the first season when it was a breath of fresh air to have a Reality show that wasn’t chockful of nasty judges and heroes and villains. Remember that show?

TV Tonight understands the changes -and the audience response- has not gone unnoticed.

The powers that be are looking to see the soul restored into MasterChef for its 2012 season. While there are no expressed plans to change the judging line-up, there are rumblings that the brand has to be restored. But there will be an uphill battle to win back audience trust.

Later this year Junior MasterChef returns. It will again be produced by Shine Australia which takes ownership of the main event for 2012. This will see it under the helm of the creative team that produced the first season.

While the current edition is heading to its finale, nobody in the inner circle is keen to have a detailed discussion about the misgivings of this season.

But there are already plans for MasterChef 2.0.

66 Responses

  1. One of the problems is that the rules are always changing every week. One example of many is the Celebrity Chef challenges. Sometimes it’s an apprentice rather than the chef themself; sometimes the contestants get a recipe, sometimes half sometimes not at all; sometimes it’s not even the professional chef’s dish; etc.

    It would be a lot fairer if there was some more consistency in all the challenges.

  2. As for the female judge suggestion.. what ever happened to Donna Hay?

    It looked as if at one point she was being groomed to join the judges permanently. Has her own show on Foxtel not given her the flexibility to appear this season??

  3. The whole thing is Yuk and personally I can’t stand Matt Preston.He alone is more than enough reason to watch one of the opposition shows elsewhere.

  4. I don’t know if Matt Moran is an issue, I actually like his critique and input, maybe bring back Donna Hay I liked her last year and think she had something good to offer the show. I would like the simpler more down to earth show that the original season offered, instead of the highly strung, poor thought out version that is currently airing.

  5. The Tuesday episodes should stay but the immunity prize should go. Perhaps a prize of ‘extra time’ during individual challenges would be better??

    Also make most episodes 90 minutes long, that way I can see all the dishes.

  6. A very timely subject David. My wife and I have watched each series but for some reason I couldn’t get into this one but I think the reasons already stated go some way to explaining it. the only character we started to like was Billy but that took nearly the whole season. It’s not so much who wins as who we Dont’t want to win.
    Spot on about playing favourites with the two emotional girls in Dani & Ellie. Please, no more tears!!!. Dani going up against a non-chef last night was the last straw for me. And when picking teams, make it random like a picking a name out of the hat as opposed to just chooing every second person to ensure the team outcome.
    I know it’s a victim of each own success and longevity but we’re sick of the endless “What will winning Masterchef mean to you?” “I’m glad I’m safe but you feel for ? as he/she was an integral part of the house”, and the worst of all, “I’m not ready to leave the house yet.”
    Everything is just so stage mangaged – the surprised look when mail arrives; the incrdulous look when a chef is announced; and worst of all, the cut & paste scenes when Matt had to leave the house.
    Go back to the basics like the mystery box. Last night’s challenge was a crock as was trying contestants trying to find their way around NY.

  7. John says: “Agree with the comments regarding unfair favoritism towards certain contestants. They should bring in a female judge for 2012.”

    I doubt the “judges” are much more than participants in the eviction decision. The real decision is made by the producers and the “judges” would just be advising on who could evicted without too much of an uproar. A female host (they’re not really juges) would be a great idea, just for balance in the hosting.

    I feel most embarrased this season for George and Garry, whose names and professional reputation is being tarnished by the lack-lustre production decisions that are made to appear to be their decision.

  8. “The drama no longer emerges from a contestant’s ability to rise to their own ambitions but in trying to top the shock-and-awe of a previous challenge”

    Very well said. The competition has turned from the people doing the cooking to the producers trying to outdo themselves. This resulted in the Dalai Lama jumping the shark.

    The first series had people that really could cook (Chris Badenoch, whether you like him or not, had a commercial kitchen in his House he was that keen on cooking) and the contests were consistant. The fast-forward immunity was a mistake and season two’s pin was a much better idea. And if only one is awarded in the entire series: so what? This pin should only ever be won by someone who truly does something amazing.

    In the first and second series, the mystery box was a key episode in the week where the winner got to play to their strengths by picking a core ingredient. This is what made it exciting (and also what made few immunity opportunities ok). Gamesmanship came into it when the core ingredient was deliberately picked because most other contestants would struggle with it.

    Hopefully Masterchef 2.0 will turn it back into a competition between amateur cooks.

  9. @Qubec, great critique, I totally agree with all you say. By the final six, the dishes produced should be absolutely blow your socks off amazing. Instead, they were ordinary and flawed – still, after they’ve been in the MC kitchen for six months!!! Something has clearly gone wrong here in terms of training and mentoring of the contestants. Too many high stress challenges, not enough instruction and training.

    @Moanique, how true. The whingeing and allegations of copycatting from those associated with MC that we saw right through MKR’s run earlier this year was both predictable and tedious. Bottom line, MKR is more an adaptation of Come Dine With Me, it is not an MC copy. Thing is, the last series of MKR was fantastic and has left this series of Masterchef for dead. One thing I will give Seven props for is that they cast their reality series brilliantly.

    @steve, Hayden the lifesaver appears to be a protected species. I reckon Ten have big plans for him as on-air talent. I’m certain he’ll make final three, despite being a fairly ordinary performer.

  10. The problem with MasterChef is that because it’s now “the golden child” on Ten, it’s become commercial and stale. I don’t think it’s really that much different regarding contestents or judging – judging might be a bit tougher – but product placements, the scripted feeling of interstils and the general air of heavy handed post-production editing just feels too “polished” for lack of a better word… The show just isnt as genuine as it used to be… still prefer this to just about any other show of it’s ilk.

  12. Good to hear that changes are coming. To me the only way to stop the blatant favoritism that has been so obvious this year (and last – Callum) is for all tasting to be blind. Perhaps Gary and/or George could be in the “kitchen” and could give marks for kitchen skills, and then the two Matts and a guest judge could be the tasters, without any knowledge of who cooked what. Therefore there would be more votes on food quality which is what the show is / should be all about. I also agree more emphasis should be on good food from simple ingredients than on hysterics or disasters.
    Lastly let’s stop comparing this show to MKR – totally different

  13. gotta say i loved masterchef au till this year , im getting over it very quickly , but amd really loving masterchef us , its tougher , more honest bout the contestants cooking skills and dont sugar coat the whole show pretending to be nice. they condence it all down to 2 shows a week insted of dragging it out over 6 shows , cant wait for masterchef us each week but dont care if i miss most of the week of the australian version . what the hell happened

  15. It surely has lost it’s way this year…this time last year I was hooked, but really couldn’t care less this year, I don’t know why they even bothered with the diverse casting if they are just going to go out of their way to make sure that ‘young, pretty’ ones get to the final. I actually don’t think the judges are the problem, they are fundementally as good as season 1 or 2 but I think everything the judges do is managed by producers. Shine did a good job of reinventing Biggest Loser when they took that back over, so let’s home they can do the same for Masterchef next year.

  17. Great article David. Thanks for addressing this.

    I couldn’t agree more with what everyone is saying. Especially last night. George did get annoyed with Ellie when she had dockets everywhere and was in not so a polite way that she was in trouble.

    Its just not fair for people who performed poorly on more than one occasion to get through each challenge time and time again.

    I also don’t see the point in Matt Moran either. I’m not a fan and agree its turned into a boys club. There are plenty of female chefs or well experience cooks that they can bring back. .

  18. I agree with a number of the comments here – especially going back to the Sunday night Mystery Box/Invention test show rather than the “special events”. But I also think including Matt Moran is a mistake – I find him very negative and sour while Gary/George/Matt manage to soften their negative comments with lighter positive ones. But please, no more Anna Gare I found her patronising on Junior MC (which I’m not a big fan of). More Kylie Kwong or Christine Mansfield to break up the boys club would be fab. I also wish they would stop with the 10 min and 20 min challenges – give the contestants more time and scope to make great food.

  19. i agree with all these comments- the lifesaver is a favourite too and has been kept in depite some disasters…and if i hear one more time” i don’t think i’ll have the time to plate up for the judges” i will scream! They nearly always finish so that line is wearing really thin- the show used to be fun- now its just annoying. Bring back Big Brother!.

  20. Spot on article David. There is something clearly wrong with season 3.

    In past seasons, judges had there favourites and I wasn’t so annoyed by that…. because I actually liked the judges favourites too and because they were deserving contestants, but this year they seemed to have singled out Dani and Ellie for special treatment and these 2 clearly aren’t worthy to be in the top 20 let alone the top 5 contestants.

    Gotta agree with the comments about last nights challenge. Clearly the blue team should have won. The judges seem to alter the judging criteria to suit there verdict.

    Look for a massive ratings decline for the finale and next season.

  21. I am so glad I am not the only one who feels Masterchef is very obviously showing favouritism towards Dani and Ellie, I couldn’t believe it when Dani won the immunitay challenge against a swimmer, then last night was the last straw with the red team winning, you have got to be joking – they were an embarrassment, Ellie was hopeless and Dani burnt how many buns and steaks, they were so disorganised and also won the right to be first . I am so disgusted because it is so blatantly obvious who the judges favour. One of the three best cooks will be leaving tonight, and you know what – I wont be watching it!!

  22. Nobody in the inner circle is prepared to discuss the misgivings of this season, but they were keen to criticise MKR at every opportunity. Clean up your own backyard MC before you look in others.

  23. David, you’ve provided yet another fantastic read! Thank you…

    This season’s biggest problem, other than a bunch of boring contestants, is the fact that it continues to be about who has done the least worst job. Take last night, we’re down to the final six and yet they both delivered something with issues in the first challenge between the team captains. Shouldn’t we be at a stage where it’s not deciding who did less worse, but rather finding it difficult to separate two amazing dishes.

    If next year is going to succeed they need to find better people from different backgrounds, stop the judges bouncing up and down, make the judges stop saying horrible puns and most importantly of all, make it more relatable to the average viewer. Enough with the arrogance that you are chefs. Enough with the “rock star” treatment of every chef that walks into the kitchen. And enough of every chef that walks into the kitchen being a contestant’s idol.

  24. the problem lies with junior masterchef and the celeberty one- this dilutes the brand…i can not think of anything i would rather Not watch that junior masterchef – leave it at one materchef per season..

  25. Good that they are hearing our complaints and realise there’s problems, but i’m afraid it’s too late for me too. I ended up switching over last night and watching Poh’s Kitchen on ABC2 and then Spicks and Specks. They had Hayden and Alana cook salmon, wow haven’t seen that done in the past 3 seaons. The contestants this year have been terrible. The food they’ve produced have been terrible. And the challenges have been terrible. The fact that Dani & Ellie are in the top 5 despite being the 2 worst cooks in top 24 says a lot about with what’s wrong with this season.

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