‘The Great British Baking Show’ Season Premiere Is Its Best Episode Yet

This week:

No Wet Bottoms This Week!

I have a tried-and-true morning routine. Over the years it has become less “honed” than what was imposed on me by the universe, so much so that it has now become a daily reflex.

Every morning, I am jolted awake from a restful, biologically necessary sleep by the annoying cacophony of the synthetic rings of an old iPhone that now only charges with a certain charger when positioned at a certain angle and barely breathing. Open.

Accordingly, I’m having a mini heart attack from the sheer shock of it all. When this calms down, a loud yawn turns into an involuntary moan: “F—.” To reach the iPhone and silence the alarm, a glass of water, a bottle of Tums, and one, but not all, of the book I’d been pretending to read for six and a half months were dropped. commode. May all your days begin with such peace and hope.

But this isn’t the last Friday morning.

My eyes fluttered open like a Disney princess as I woke up naturally, a single soft beam of sunlight shining onto my face through the gap between my curtains like a warm spotlight operated by angels. Driven by a spiritual instinct, I gently rose from the bed and glided with the ease of a ballerina towards my sofa.

Before I knew it, my television was on. netflix opened and the new season premiered. Great British Baking Show was playing.

Sometimes you don’t realize you’re in the dark until dawn. You won’t know you’re living with a nightmare until it’s over. You don’t know how much you need to watch a bunch of humble Brits baking loaves of bread for an hour a week to stave off crippling depression and fear until new episodes. Great British Baking Show available.

Of course, we all get our jolts of joy and serotonin surges from countless things, pop culture or otherwise. But there’s something pure and true fineness It really fits like a perfectly lightweight genoise sponge.

strength GBBS‘ His kindness was such that even I couldn’t be sarcastic when the premiere opened with a show – me! Barbiethemed comedy sketch. “Pssh, just in time!” On any other day, I would have scoffed. But not on this blessed morning. Not only did I giggle when Paul Hollywood showed up as Ken, but I also laughed out loud when Prue Leith showed up as Weird Barbie. What magic does this show have on me?

I’ve reached the Old Person level where I watch a lot of TV with subtitles, especially when people speak with a British accent. You can imagine how much fun I will have after the hosts. Alison Hammond and Noel Fielding welcomes viewers to the new season, with titles reading “(exuberant string music)” followed by “(birds chirping).” If it weren’t for my idyllic safe-space haven from everything that’s otherwise awful, the show would be a parody of cuteness.

This show has had roughly 438 seasons (quick Google search: OK, it’s been 15 seasons), and while some have been better than others — and a few happened downright annoying—The objection remains largely the same. Maybe that’s the sense of comfort sought here: consistency in a world of otherwise unpredictable chaos.

The description of the episode seems familiar at first glance. We meet the contestants, all amateur bakers from across the UK, all incredibly humble and cheerful, and all sent by God to either make me giggle or move me to tears after everything they say.

Sumaya joked that the last time she felt this nervous was “before my A-level results, or when I was queuing to buy tickets to a Taylor Swift concert.” (Chuckle.) Nelly, who moved to England from Slovakia, said: GBBS It was the first program he watched when he arrived in England. (Tears.) When he got to the tent, Mike admitted that his mother told him not to cry, but he “cried three times yesterday.” (Giggles and tears.)

The cast is a nice mix of Bingo-loving grandmas (who have a guilty pleasure in designer purses), nurses who enjoy playing bocce with their families, more than one person who owns chickens and/or ducks, and a record that satisfies my personal curiosity season after season. number of homosexuals!

They make fun of each other’s accents. They get as many laughs as host Alison (perhaps the most irresistibly warm and funny host of a reality competition show ever) and Noel. And according to Prue—and confirmed by the bakers at the premiere—they might be the most talented group of amateur bakers the show has ever seen.

The episode revealed a few developments that I won’t spoil, but may irritate Cooking Demonstration purists. It was an elimination surprise that I enjoyed so much that, not surprisingly, I was in tears again. And a change in how the technical challenge will be conducted has me raising an eyebrow.

Mostly, I just forgot how much I didn’t enjoy this show, maybe even need BT. Is this corny? So be it. One man’s wet bottom is another man’s perfect crumb.

Sorrowful But Happy for Hoda

As I silently sobbed while watching a video on my phone on Thursday morning, I apologize to everyone on the city center 1 train—some looking on with concern, others with strange judgment.

Playing: Emotional announcement from Hoda Kotb that he left Today to show.

Watch here.

There was no squirting move I could have done that would have been as effective as what each of his colleagues said with tears streaming down their cheeks during the segment. For me, having been with Hoda producing both the Big Show and the 10 o’clock with Jenna Bush Hager, at a time when morning television was becoming increasingly irrelevant, I’ve never been more invested in it.

I was relieved by the compassion underlying the intelligence he brought to the news. Recognizing that we all come to the news through personal experiences, her willingness to share the details of her own life is incredibly relatable and human. It may sound silly, but watching mini clips of him and Jenna talking about life, family, and friendship posted on Instagram every day is my version of daily validation.

In a rapidly changing genre of television, this will represent a seismic shift. As a viewer, I will miss him, but as a fan, I’m happy for him and what he’ll do with his life.

Go Stream This Movie Now

I remember watching the new documentary Will and Harper It was at the Sundance Film Festival in January and I was blown away by how funny and profound it was.

The film focuses on Ferrell’s journey with one of his closest friends from back in the day. Saturday Night Liverecently transitioned author Harper Steele. As they travel the country, they encounter different mindsets and levels of acceptance, reconnecting with each other and providing audiences with a complex portrait of the trans experience in America.

You can read my review Hereand a report from this week’s emotional New York City premiere Here. Also, read these comments from Ferrell, who has received a lot of backlash from some fans for defending Harper recently: gave in an interviewThings I think are important:

“There’s hate out there. It’s very real, and in some cases it’s very unsafe for trans people. … But I don’t know why transgender people are threatening me as a cisgender man. I don’t know why Harper is threatening me.”

This seemed so strange to me because Harper finally… he,. He finally became the person he was always meant to be. Whether you eventually get it or not, why should you care if someone is happy? Why does this threaten you? “If the trans community poses a threat to you, I think it’s because you don’t trust yourself and you don’t feel safe.”

Just Enjoyable

Listen, I’m trying to limit how often I post clips of Kelly Clarkson singing in this newsletter. I swear. But this cover of Chappell Roan’s “Good Luck, Babe” with Miranda Lambert is too good not to share. Watch here.

What to watch this week:

Colin from accounts: this one the underrated jewel a comedy series. Watch now! (Now on Paramount+)

We Will Dance Again: It’s not an easy hour but a necessary one About the October 7 attacks in Israel. (Now on Paramount+)

my old ass: I I’m stuck on this title As much as I am with everything else about this movie. (In theaters now)

What to skip this week:

Megalopolis: An ambitious epic…and epic disasterby Francis Ford Coppola r. (In theaters now)

Nobody Wants This: PSA orders all networks and broadcasters to stop providing program titles that may used against them! (Now on Netflix)