Restaurant: Impossible

I have watched one episode of this show, and it is literally a carbon copy of the kitchen nightmare format! Bad kitchen, chef comes in to see kitchen, head chef (HC) lies to presenter chef (PC). PC wants to see kitchen in action, and HC does silly things, PC brings them up on it and HC kicks off. HC then realises that PC is right. All is well.

Literally a Kitchen Nightmare rip off! Watch that, as Gordon is so much better!

Every time I see this show I end up crying. What the h---is wrong with people. He is trying to help. If people don't take advantage and run with it shame on their dumb ass. God knows I would love that kind of help but it will never happen to me. He may not have the money Jon T. in bar rescue, (who I also love) but he gives people a second chance. I love it!! If you don't appreciate what he is trying to do then you have never had to really fight to stay alive.

I loved the first several seasons of this show, because it was all about the FOOD. Sure, it involved fixing the kitchen/giving the place a facelift to make it an attractive package, but it has devolved to "HGTV/Marriage counseling Hour". I, like many people, will go into a hole in the wall, as long as it's relatively clean, but mostly IF THE FOOD IS GOOD. The last few seasons the food aspect has been less than 5 minutes out of every hour episode. So the recent places may look nice, but the food is still going to suck.

Here's something you'll hear every episode: The designer of the episode will say "There are sooooo many dust collectors", or "We HATE nik-naks!", only to put up a thousand new dust collectors and nik naks to replace the ones they just hauled outside.

It was funny when Robert used to take a sledgehammer to a wall or whatever, because then he'd walk off to the kitchen and make something delicious. Now he hangs around the remodel or goes to the trailer and makes phone calls. Very disappointing.

I thought this was a FOOD network show. What happened to the FOOD part of the show??

Each week, a different failing restaurant is given a FAST makeover by Robert Irvine and his assistants. In many cases, you find the restaurant owners likable but clueless. In others, they just seem like annoying jerks who seem to fight Irvine's suggestions--and the audience WANTS to see them fail but Irvine, inexplicably, doesn't give up. Regardless, by the end of the show, the establishment is cleaner, brighter and more able to succeed. Despite being HIGHLY scripted, the show, overall, is very entertaining. My only complaints are that the followups online are very vague and I'd LOVE to see a followup show a year or two later when they revisit many of the old shows. Still, a simple idea that manages to work.

I know that there has been some controversy about the host, Robert Irvine's credentials. I tried to get to the truth of this by reading a lot of articles on the internet and really couldn't. It appears as if he might have exaggerated a bit instead of actually lying about his experiences. However, he IS a very good host of the show--mostly because he appears to care so much about the people (unlike in the British version of this show--where the host is very abusive). He also seems like a really nice guy--and that is hard to fake.

Chef Irvine is bombastic and British - perfect fodder for an American food show.

This fresh update of the tired formula still being pushed by Kitchen Nightmares is worth a look. I enjoyed Gordon Ramsay when he first started, but lately the 'lay it on thick' emotional rubbish and bosses who just don't deserve help have reduced my interest in the show. If it wasn't for the show revolving around helping people (always worth supporting on that basis) I probably would have stopped watching.

Restaurant Impossible is like a nice reboot of the concept. We get to meet the crew who do the renovation, and watch it all come together. The cooking tips are real and the pressure seems genuine. I look forward to the next season, and do genuinely hope that the Kitchen Nightmares producers learn some lessons from this junior 'knock-off' and revitalise their own tired show.