Great British Bake Off 2019

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts

I seem to be doing nothing but moaning in this thread so here’s a improvement this year. My hubs watched GBBO for the first time last year with me and a thing that drove us both daft that was in every single round of every single episode, they did the thing of saying things along the lines of “Too long in the oven and the derp derpy derp. Too little time, and derpy derpy derp derp”. There was always the too long/too short, too much time/too little time, etc. comparison. Hubs and I were both like “There must be a different way they can word how things can go wrong with the bake!”.

Well, somebody in the production must have noticed because it has stopped. They have changed up their wording! Did anyone else notice? And was anyone else annoyed by that? Or am I just raving?

Sunny Dayz

Scarinae wrote: »

I don't think they've done dairy week before, I've been trying to think what that would involve. Cheesecake? Custard?

Sounds pretty good to me!! :P

HeidiHeidi

Mmmmmm.... baked cheesecake..... yummmmmmmm!!!!


They said that dairy week is a first for the series.

dee_mc

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts wrote: »

I seem to be doing nothing but moaning in this thread so here’s a improvement this year. My hubs watched GBBO for the first time last year with me and a thing that drove us both daft that was in every single round of every single episode, they did the thing of saying things along the lines of “Too long in the oven and the derp derpy derp. Too little time, and derpy derpy derp derp”. There was always the too long/too short, too much time/too little time, etc. comparison. Hubs and I were both like “There must be a different way they can word how things can go wrong with the bake!”.

Well, somebody in the production must have noticed because it has stopped. They have changed up their wording! Did anyone else notice? And was anyone else annoyed by that? Or am I just raving?

They used that wording last week and I can't remember the context now but whatever they said was just plain wrong. It was as though they had decided they were using that wording and so they went with it even though it was ridiculous!
Ah it's bugging me now that I can't remember!
It was as stupid as saying "when the bakers are making purple bread, they must be careful not to add too much blue food colouring, or they'll end up with blue bread. But add too little blue and it will be black".

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts

dee_mc wrote: »

They used that wording last week and I can't remember the context now but whatever they said was just plain wrong. It was as though they had decided they were using that wording and so they went with it even though it was ridiculous!
Ah it's bugging me now that I can't remember!
It was as stupid as saying "when the bakers are making purple bread, they must be careful not to add too much blue food colouring, or they'll end up with blue bread. But add too little blue and it will be black".

Arrgh, even your paraphrased description of it is annoying me! But I’m glad they seem to have cut it mostly out. Last year, it was nearly every challenge.

tea and coffee

Too long in the oven and it will be over baked, too short and it will be under baked and possibly a soggy bottom....

Stating the bleeding obvious!

Tar.Aldarion

Found bread week a bit boring, not warming to any of the people yet, apart from jamie who is gone.

dee_mc

Yeah i found bread week a bit meh too this year.
I like Michael, he's hilarious, and I think if she settles down with the "pretending to be worried having produced something near perfect" thing I'll like Alice too.
The Welsh lady could be fun if she'd drop the constant mentions of Wales and being Welsh and Welsh rugby and, I dunno, leeks... all the themed bakes are getting old already.
I'm finding the lady with the heavy fringe a bit irritating but I'd say she's one to watch.
Oh and the vet lady - she's very good but quite annoying too
I feel like at this stage in some previous series I've warmed to more people! Maybe they'll grow on me. Or maybe I'll stop being so judgemen... nah.

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts

I like Michael (the fitness instructor guy). And Phil. Representing the middle age and above category! And I thought the decoration on his signature fruit cake was a work of art.

tea and coffee wrote: »

Too long in the oven and it will be over baked, too short and it will be under baked and possibly a soggy bottom....

Stating the bleeding obvious!

Yes, exactly this. I didn’t mind them explaining what could go wrong because some viewers are baking neophytes but it was the same goddamn wording every time. I was always thinking “There has to be some other way to say it!”.

stargazer 68

No one watching? Michael better get his bake on!

Posy

That was poor, to say the least!! :eek:

stargazer 68

Posy wrote: »

That was poor, to say the least!! :eek:

Yep but a strange show stopper. Milk sweets!

RhubarbCrumble

"How do I know what an English rose looks like? I'm Welsh".

Oh fcuk.off.please!!!

Jesus, if I have to listen to Gladys Pugh there for the next 8 or so weeks I'll throw something at the tv.

HeidiHeidi

Playing late catch-up tonight, so haven't read any comments here yet.


First impressions for me -

Jaysus, Noel's shirt :eek: It's seriously upsetting me, and I'm only about 10 mins in!


Michael's cake split in half - HTF is going he to rescue this situation??? :eek:

Do you need to take out a second mortgage if you get onto this programme? Michael cooked that cake TEN TIMES this week???

HeidiHeidi

Ah seriously, who's on the fecking cameras?



One close-up of the eyes on the ghost cake (probably the most imaginative cake of all, not only because it's almost the only one not in that swirl tin that seems to feature in every episode this year, are they sponsoring the show or what??)


Would it have killed them to give us a look at the whole actual cake?


Apart from that, the dairy cakes seem to be a rip-roaring success so far anyway.....

HeidiHeidi

Yayy, Michelle got through an entire round without mentioning Wales, or that she's Welsh, or rugby!

Princess Calla

Very uninteresting week I thought.

The showstoppers looked like some of the technical challenges do,where no one really has a clue what's going on. None of them were wow!! In my opinion.

nuttyboy79

RhubarbCrumble wrote: »

"How do I know what an English rose looks like? I'm Welsh".

Oh fcuk.off.please!!!

Jesus, if I have to listen to Gladys Pugh there for the next 8 or so weeks I'll throw something at the tv.

And the goth one with her witchy/spiders/ghosts shtick :mad::mad::mad:

HeidiHeidi

But a baker has got through to the telly show Great British Bake-Off, and has never made rough puff pastry before???


Fk sake, even I'VE made rough puff pastry (in national school cookery classes, admittedly, but I remember it well!).


I was all over the "this is gone too gimmicky and high-falutin'" last series, but that's taking the dumbing down a bit too far IMO.....

I absolutely love this show. I get ridiculously excited when it comes back. But I just cannot properly get into it yet this year! I'm not warming to anyone. Can't even remember most of their names.

The vet. In theory she should be my favourite because I'm a huge animal lover and she's a vet. Plus she's a pretty good baker. But she's so totally boring!

The choir boy. I think I'll be in the minority here but he comes across as a sanctimonious little pr!ck. I swear he was laughing at Michael's disaster tonight behind his oven glove. And when they showed him rollerblading like a seven year old with his helmet and knee/elbow pads.. jaysus!

Priya- two reserved.

David - smug and smirky.

Michael - ok I suppose. Just a bit meh.

Fringe girl - warmed to her a little this week I suppose.

Old fella - his sweets did look like playdough! Maybe not enough screen time so he didn't grow on me.

Teacher - madly in love with herself. Makes a lot of annoying faces.

Is that everyone? I don't even know. Overall a sorry bunch in my opinion and as ODB, I think, pointed out, the level of skill is way down this year. How can you get on GBBO and not be well practiced in baking bread???

I'm probably being way overly harsh but I'm very disappointed this year. I really hope some of them come out of their shells or something and it improves as time goes on.

RhubarbCrumble

HeidiHeidi wrote: »

Yayy, Michelle got through an entire round without mentioning Wales, or that she's Welsh, or rugby!

Oh no she didn't. We'd never be that lucky.

HeidiHeidi

With the Maids of Honour cakes, why did absolutely none of them cut the pastry big enough to actually fill the holes in the tin?

HeidiHeidi

RhubarbCrumble wrote: »

Oh no she didn't. We'd never be that lucky.

Well she got through the first micro-round!

Oh yeah..

The Welsh one who needs us to know she's Welsh. And that rice pudding looked foul.

The goth one who needs us to know she's goth.

Why are they backing themselves into corners like that. They're seriously limiting everything they bake if it has to have a Welsh or goth theme. Silly imo.

RhubarbCrumble

I've realised why I really don't like Rosie (the vet) It's the voice. She's an English Rachel Allen.

Addle

Disappointed at the lack of cheesecake.
Only 2 good things about tonight’s show-the ducklings and Noel’s shirt.

HeidiHeidi

When they said "Indian sweets" I thought they meant actual sweets..... these seem to be just cakes, why are they calling them sweets??? (admittedly I haven't actually seen any yet, only the drawings)

HeidiHeidi

I can't separate Michael and Henry in my head! They're both so alike - nerdy, booky, quirky and lovable!


Michelle (I'm Welsh, dontchaknow) is beginning to develop a bit of a killer look about her, like she'll just annihilate anyone who gets in her way.



That Indian sweet round - everything looked absolutely revolting! Hopefully they're back to normal, conventional, Western-style baking next week (I'd say the trucker fella is wishing that as well!!!)

siblers

HeidiHeidi wrote: »

Ah seriously, who's on the fecking cameras?



One close-up of the eyes on the ghost cake (probably the most imaginative cake of all, not only because it's almost the only one not in that swirl tin that seems to feature in every episode this year, are they sponsoring the show or what??)


Would it have killed them to give us a look at the whole actual cake?

.

That's s the directors/editors fault, they decide how much of any bake is shown not the camera men

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts

HeidiHeidi wrote: »

But a baker has got through to the telly show Great British Bake-Off, and has never made rough puff pastry before???


Fk sake, even I'VE made rough puff pastry (in national school cookery classes, admittedly, but I remember it well!).


I was all over the "this is gone too gimmicky and high-falutin'" last series, but that's taking the dumbing down a bit too far IMO.....

Yup, I’ve said it before but the gaps in knowledge this year are eyebrow-raising.

Interesting to see the person who left looking completely shocked for once. Not sure how I feel about this week’s elimination.

And I gave him a chance... but I can’t stand David. He is exactly as smug as he looks. Delirah that Steph pipped him.

And finally, Priya’s hair is gorgeous!

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts

Oh and I forgot to say, I’m not the biggest fan of the Noel+Sandi combo but they were high-larious tonight.

tea and coffee

I felt tonight's elimination was unwarranted. There were 2 others who were easily worse and could both have got the chop

Addle

Loved how shocked he was. And then to be called boring! Ha.

What are they saving the double elimination for?

HeidiHeidi

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts wrote: »

And I gave him a chance... but I can’t stand David. He is exactly as smug as he looks. Delirah that Steph pipped him.

110% agree. He's positively smarmy.

And finally, Priya’s hair is gorgeous!

Yup.

RhubarbCrumble

Oh David is SOOOOOO smug. Was delighted Steph got star baker. You could see the look of outrage on his face.

I don't think there's ever been a series where I've disliked so many of the contestants.

Monkey2019

It's the first time I have removed it from my series link.

Not enjoying it at all this year!

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts

Addle wrote: »

Loved how shocked he was. And then to be called boring! Ha.

What are they saving the double elimination for?

And I wish they’d shut the eff up about it at the deliberations. Paul is such a drama queen.

tea and coffee wrote: »

I felt tonight's elimination was unwarranted. There were 2 others who were easily worse and could both have got the chop

Priya’s technical couldn’t even be eaten! I know more weight is given to the Showstopper but her technical offering was almost an insult. And even though it was a very old recipe, I’m not sure why they all struggled so much. The cheese curd layer seemed to be the only unusual part.

borderlinemeath

I'm really liking Helena the goth! I know everything is halloween themed but her spider from a few weeks ago was amazing, and I'm warming to her personality.



The teacher one is annoying as hell, she comes across as a teenage version of Bridget Jones or something and I just don't like it.



I do quite like Steph and her fringe, and I'm delighted she got star baker over David.



I'm not bothered about Michelles constant references to her Welshness. I'm just watching for her death stares. she seems very competitive.



TBH, I lost interest in Phil when he made a cake flavoured with Rosewater. But still didn't think he deserved to go.



And this weeks showstopper was ridiculous. I zoned out watching it.

LizT

tea and coffee wrote: »

I felt tonight's elimination was unwarranted. There were 2 others who were easily worse and could both have got the chop

They always get rid of the older bakers who go with tried and tested combinations, in favour of those who push the boat out a little bit more. Paul especially seems to have a problem with ‘boring’ bakers. I don’t think he would have lasted much longer in the competition but I didn’t think he deserved to go.

I’m not really invested in any of the bakers yet and the challenges have been fairly unremarkable so far.

Earthhorse

This is my first time watching GBBO since it switched to Channel 4 so I’m glad to see others are having trouble with this series and not just me as it means they didn’t break the format in moving it.

I miss Mary Berry, which I knew I would, but I also miss Mel and Sue, which I’m a bit surprised by; their shtick sort of suited the lame humour of the show. And I miss the little history bits about baking.

Thought Steph deserved to win last week so glad to see her do it this week. Reckon she will make the final, she seems the most consistent. But agree that this years lot seem to lack a bit of personality.

GRACKEA

Priya is my fave! Her humour is so understated and easy. And you can tell she absolutely hashtag werks. Slay, etc

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts

Earthhorse wrote: »

This is my first time watching GBBO since it switched to Channel 4 so I’m glad to see others are having trouble with this series and not just me as it means they didn’t break the format in moving it.

I miss Mary Berry, which I knew I would, but I also miss Mel and Sue, which I’m a bit surprised by; their shtick sort of suited the lame humour of the show. And I miss the little history bits about baking.

Thought Steph deserved to win last week so glad to see her do it this week. Reckon she will make the final, she seems the most consistent. But agree that this years lot seem to lack a bit of personality.

As well as that, I tried to deal with the ad breaks. I really tried. I banked time at the start of each show so I could speed through them with minimal disruption but it’s just not the same as the relaxing hour it was on the BBC. You could just sink into it.

The first year on Channel 4 stayed very true to the Beeb version but slowly it’s been going downhill since then. Even just simple things like not calling it the Gingham Altar during the Technical Challenge anymore.

And I miss Mary, Mel and Sue too. People say Mel and Sue distracted contestants too much but I think Noel is as bad, to be honest.

LirW

I don't get the Helena hate a lot of people have. Given her somewhat unusual backstory in life and what she now she seems pretty authentic. I mean that woman makes money with selling vintage goth accessories.
I understand when her style isn't to people's taste but it's more pushed by the host going on and on about her "typical unusual" style, she's not as annoying and in your face as the Welsh one.

I think yesterday's elimination was not really justified, I think Priya should have gone.

Addle

Helena’s my favorite.

Mr E

Harsh guys, I'm still enjoying it. I don't miss the Mel and Sue show. I like Prue, and I seem to hate David as much as everyone else.

I will say that the ads are nuts though. There is a break before show stopper judging and a break before the eliminations. They're just 5 minutes apart!

It's no wonder people are being driven towards ad-free alternative viewing methods.

miamee

Earthhorse wrote: »

This is my first time watching GBBO since it switched to Channel 4 so I’m glad to see others are having trouble with this series and not just me as it means they didn’t break the format in moving it.

I miss Mary Berry, which I knew I would, but I also miss Mel and Sue, which I’m a bit surprised by; their shtick sort of suited the lame humour of the show. And I miss the little history bits about baking.

Thought Steph deserved to win last week so glad to see her do it this week. Reckon she will make the final, she seems the most consistent. But agree that this years lot seem to lack a bit of personality.

I miss the history bits as well, I was looking forward to a bit about the Maid of Honour cakes and Henry VIII but nada

Mr E wrote: »

Harsh guys, I'm still enjoying it. I don't miss the Mel and Sue show. I like Prue, and I seem to hate David as much as everyone else.

I will say that the ads are nuts though. There is a break before show stopper judging and a break before the eliminations. They're just 5 minutes apart!

It's no wonder people are being driven towards ad-free alternative viewing methods.

The ads are crazy alright. I only caught up on All4 and although they don't have ad breaks if you download the show, they still have a break at the appointed ad times to show you an ad for the bake-off, it's as if they just removed the adverts but kept the bit where they transition to and from the ad break. Still annoying but less so than the actual 5 minutes of ads.

I don't hate any of the contestants yet but equally, I don't love any of them either. I like Michael but he is getting a lot of airtime so I'm assuming that means we'll be seeing lots more of him as the series goes on. You can really see them cutting back on showing cakes, they all made 3 Inidan sweets but they only showed the judges tasting and commenting on 2 out of 3 for most of them.

Earthhorse

LirW wrote: »

I don't get the Helena hate a lot of people have. Given her somewhat unusual backstory in life and what she now she seems pretty authentic. I mean that woman makes money with selling vintage goth accessories.

I don't hate her by any means but I do find she's one of those people who has an obsession rather than a personality. I don't know how to described. There's nothing wrong with any of these contestants, just compared to previous years they aren't as easy to warm to.

Mr E wrote: »

I like Prue

I like her fine. But she's no Mary Berry.

The ads are a bit mad alright. I watch it on All4 though I'm not sure it's even called that any more. As OBD says it just means you can't settle into it for the hour. Maybe I should download it like Miamee and see if that makes a difference.

Penn

Deleted User wrote: »

The Welsh one who needs us to know she's Welsh.

HeidiHeidi wrote: »

Michelle (I'm Welsh, dontchaknow)

F*ck me I hate her. I get that some people feel like they need something to make them stand out, but being Welsh isn't interesting. Everyone from Wales is Welsh.

LizT

Penn wrote: »

F*ck me I hate her. I get that some people feel like they need something to make them stand out, but being Welsh isn't interesting. Everyone from Wales is Welsh.

She is really starting to irritate me now. I wonder is she watching it back now and cringing, I would be.

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts

Mr E wrote: »

Harsh guys, I'm still enjoying it. I don't miss the Mel and Sue show. I like Prue, and I seem to hate David as much as everyone else.

I will say that the ads are nuts though. There is a break before show stopper judging and a break before the eliminations. They're just 5 minutes apart!

It's no wonder people are being driven towards ad-free alternative viewing methods.

Check out the ad-spacing, courtesy of All4:



Ridiculous. Reducing to three breaks would be a great improvement.