libertyjhw

I love the ATK brand and everything that Julia and Bridget have done since the split with Chris, but this show is a disaster. The host is wrong on so many levels, she just does not embody the spirit of the brand. And the format of the show is so boringly predictable, I would have hoped for something more creative. Such a disappointment! There is a folksy, Everyman feel to ATK and Cook's Country, and that is absolutely missing in this awkward, forced production. I have to admit that I've only watched two episodes, but the contestants seem really weak. One person didn't know that you need to cut skirt steak across the grain!?! That's cooking 101!

Such a stark contrast to where we are today, isolating ourselves, cutting off aid to our allies, helping people in need. The images of the UNNR camps must be compared to the hellish scenes of migrant children being held in chain link fence enclosures during phase 1 of the new fascist rule. How did things go so wrong for us, and what can we learn from comparing what's going on now to what was happening in Germany in the 1930s? Back then, people had very limited exposure to information, but now, poorly educated chumps are soaking up the over abundance of misinformation. How do we remind people that we have the power to be the Good Guys again?

I know that it's supposed to be soapy fun but the story line with the black characters is just hitting so wrong, knowing what was going on at that time just 20 years after the Civil War. Much of the wealth depicted was generated through slavery. Are we just glossing over that?

I'm also always comparing this to Downton Abbey, where here I feel like there are too many characters to keep track of. I sometimes want to research an actor and I don't even know where to start as I don't know their name in the show.

I still love the opulence and the art direction, but the story line just seems weak and too fractured. S2 E1 may be the last one I watch.