http://images.theage.com.au/ftage/ffximage/2009/05/14/masterchef_wideweb__470x316,0.jpgSpin-offs of series are generally uninspired and disappointing.
You spend the whole time on the look out for characters that are in the original, but not in the spin off and there's always this lurking sense of discomfort because the show's so similar to the original, but yet weirdly foreign and unfamiliar at the same time. It's sort of like visiting Toronto when you're from Sydney. Same sort of city vibe, different country, not as good. You get me. If you're like me, you don't give the spin-off the benefit of more than one viewing before giving up with a dramatic sigh "It's just not as good as the original" because it all just gets a little too taxing on the brain to try and be "open minded" about this rip off series that the executive producers have decided to make in a bid to spawn a never ending chain of successful tv shows. Grey's Anatomy vs Private Practice. Friends v Joey. See what I mean?
The original always rocks harder.
Like most things though, exceptions to the general rule surprise me once in a while.
Celebrity Masterchef.
For me, Masterchef was the highlight television show of the year. I loved the cooking, the contestants, the judges, the host (big fan of Sarah Wilson: classy), the regularity at which it was on. Everything worked. I thought that if there were ever to be another season, the second season would pale miserably in comparison because the first series was untoppable.
But for the past month or so I've been pleasantly surprised because Celebrity Masterchef begs to differ. Badly. In the best way. Every Wednesday I storm home in record time to catch the last half hour, riveted, while I eat dinner.
Today's celebrities were Wendy Harmer, Alex Perry and Simon Katich.
Simon Katich won with an awesome rendition of Stephanie Alexander's 10 layered crepe lemon passion fruit cake. Alex Perry and Wendy Harmer were pretty damn good as well. Alex Perry was so intense I thought his shirt was going to bust open with all that muscle bulging tension. Meanwhile, Wendy Harmer was like the cheeky but diligent student in the back row- taking it seriously, but having a fun time with it. Gotta love her take on whether she's a good chef: "As a chef, I think I make an excellent children's book author (her day job)."
It's kept enough of the things that made it work in the first place, to make it just as appealing the second time around: the uplifting music that chimes in when a contestant is on the brink of gaining high praise from the judges, the suspense, the slick editing, the lovely judges and the high pressure format. It's familiar and new all at the same time.
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