#12. Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares

Let me first state I LOVE GORDON RAMSAY. To me Ramsay is the rage that has built up inside of me all my life manifested and yes I would imagine my rage to be British. A former Footballer (soccer player) Ramsay eventually fell victim to injury and turned to cooking only to become one of the world’s most recognizable chefs and as such has been given a slew of reality shows. Kitchen Nightmares is by far the best of the bunch.

Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares is a reality television show which follows the world famous chef as he travels to different restaurants that are in need of his assistance. Ramsay normally has to contend with a horrible menu and an owner(s) that are not much better. He heads to the failing restaurants for a period of one week. Throughout the course of the week you can learn to count on a few things. First he is going to hate the food and call for a new menu that is “simple”, second he is going to have words with the owner, lots of loud words and third the restaurant will normally get a make over and a nice boost due to the celebrity chef being around.

I’ll be honest I was never a fan of Gordon Ramsay before seeing the show, in fact if anything I just thought he was a jerk from the little exposure I’ve had of him (mostly from commercials for Hell’s Kitchen) but after watching Kitchen Nightmares he grows on you, in fact that jerk-ness is still around but is much more charming (I suppose that word works) as it seems that he genuinely wants to help these restaurants succeed and yes I realize it could all be an act but a guy can dream right?

Ramsay is just a blast to watch. He’s loud, obtrusive, OUTRAGOUS and won’t take the bull that many of the stubborn owners throw at him.

The show has been running for several years and even has an American version due to Ramsay’s increasing celebrity status in the U.S. New episodes have just started airing on BBC America which is nice but sadly they are more of the American version. If you ask me the British version of the show is a much better watch. Maybe it’s because I feel stubborn British people are more acceptable then stubborn American’s, all the American owners on the show are just asses and not in the fun way like Ramsay, but at least for the most part Ramsay puts them in their places.

Kitchen Nightmares is a fantastic show as is Gordon Ramsay’s other show The F Word but I didn’t want to make this list to Ramsay heavy. If you are a fan of either without having seen the other then give whichever you haven’t seen a watch and if you haven’t seen either then you have your next couple days planned out for you. Loads better then any of the garbage on the Food Network, sit down relax and watch Ramsay shout at people and warm your heart.

You can grab the shows various seasons on DVD or watch it daily on BBC America either way if your not already a viewer you soon will be.

Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares at Amazon

Final Verdict

8 out of 10

#11. Jekyll

The short (6 Episodes) series Jekyll is as you might expect a retelling of the classic tale of Jekyll and Hyde though the show is more a sequel then a straight up retelling. Sure you have your nice enough man who turns into a psycho path but that’s basically where the similarities stop.

The show stars James Nesbitt (Millions) as Tom Jackman and his alter ego Hyde and boy what a job he does. I had never seen Nesbitt in anything prior to watching this but after it I made it a point to seek out more stuff with him. The two characters look basically similar (subtle changes to the hairline and body identify the change) yet Nesbitt successfully acts in two COMPLETELY different roles. Jackman is very much a damaged family man whom distanced himself for their own protection while Hyde is like a child, a super strong, super insane child. Both are completely different sides of the same coin which I realize is a pretty clichéd thing to say about a Jekyll/Hyde show but damn if it isn’t the truth.

The story involves all sorts of fun bits including secret organizations, cloning, conspiracies and the like. I’d probably go into more detail if I could remember it all but really the 6 episodes are just so packed I wouldn’t do the show justice.

If I have one problem with the show it’s that we are left wanting more and in fact are teased that there is more to come but alas the show was never brought back which is a shame. Oh need another reason to give the show a chance? Well it’s written by Steven Moffat who wrote a few of the best episodes of the New Doctor Who series and is now that shows head honcho, the man knows dark sci-fi drama.

The show ran on BBC America a bit ago so some may have seen but if not luckily for our home viewers Jekyll has actually been released on DVD here in the states so I’d suggest you go buy it, you can get it from Amazon for 22 bucks (link below) and is worth every penny. What ever you do give the show a shot, what’s the worst thing that’s going to happen, you lose 6 hours out of your life and you waste that much time a day on the internet, right?!?

Jekyll on Amazon

Final Verdict

7.5 out of 10

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