Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Next Great Baker: Another TLC Crossover

I'll admit it: this is one of the only shows that I try to watch as close to live as possible. I generally don't care about spoilers (and sometimes look them up during a show because I can't stand waiting to find out what's going to happen), but with this particular competition series, I want to be able to assess the contestants alongside Buddy and the other judges. That said, life-size cakes are NOT the ones that I remember most from every season! [the past themes were Comediennes in S3, Buddy's sisters in S2, and there was no such challenge in S1!] Now that we've knocked out the team I've been against since the start of the season, I'm more excited to see what happens in the remaining episodes.

The remaining teams [with my current thoughts]:
Blue: Al & Lia of St. Louise, MO, coworkers at a fondant-free cake shop, where he strictly decorates, and she decorates and bakes. She's also religious. [They have no face-sculpting experience, so it was interesting to see what they could come up with.] 
Maroon: Kaiulani & Roxanne of Salt Lake City are niece & aunt perfectionists. Kai and her two kids are currently homeless. Other bakers are referring to them as the Kakedashians. [their talent is still impressive, even if I don't care for them as people.]
Black: Manny & Al of Woolwich, NJ, have been working together four years. Al has a family bakery. [their strengths haven't been showcased lately, but still strong competitors.]
Brown: Jose and Aimee of Chula Vista, CA are coworkers. [I still want to see what Aimee can do.]
Tan: Don & Meredith, of Long Island, are coworkers, with him designing and her baking. She also was his kids' nanny. [meh. I kinda think they're average at this, in comparison. ]
Purple: Bethany & Jennifer of Tomball, TX, who have known eachother for almost 20 years. [they're the only home bakers left in this game, apparently, so I'm intrigued to see how much longer they'll last...]

Cake Boss: Next Great Baker "Long Island Medium Cakes" (S04E06): [boring episode title, huh?]

Cake Challenge
: In 12 hours, make a life-size cake of Theresa Caputo, who will judge alongside her husband, Larry. [she has some huge nails!] The winning cake will go to a charity event for an Off-Broadway theater. [interesting cause.] Buddy lets Teresa use her "vibes" to create the teams. [but I kinda don't feel like she did?] The winning team will get a year's worth of Satin Ice fondant, and because of structural failures last episode, Buddy gives some building suggestions. 

Black, Brown, Purple. Manny isn't happy about the teams. When they measure Theresa, she senses Jose has a deceased brother. [or, you know, guesses from his tattoo.] Jose helps Al figure out how to do the face, but when he struggles, Jose takes over. The result is still pretty masculine, plus the stance is strange and the torso is too long. Still, Theresa finds it very detailed, so they win.

Blue
, Maroon, Tan. They shrink Theresa down a little to be more flattering, and Meredith tries to add in her knowledge of the Long Island Medium show by building a tape recorder accessory, which Theresa carries on the series. Theresa likes the shape, but the hands are flat and the hair is wrong. [Don did the hands.] 

TLC
Elimination Challenge: Sculpt a judge's face in one hour. [this seems like a complicated task for two people to work on together, no?]

Maroon does Jacques. Kai does the bulk of the face while Rox does the nose and ears. The nose is too skinny, but the finish is good. Theirs is the favorite.

Blue does Buddy, with Al focusing on the face and Lia doing the ears and nose. They do black buttercream hair in the final two minutes. The end result is cartoony and a bit out of proportion. [the Black team being excited when they saw who was still in the game was interesting... I'm guessing they don't see Blue as a threat?]

Tan does Bobbie, with Don focusing on the face while Meredith does details. [I didn't see the likeness at all.] The top features are less like her, and are more masculine. It's not recognizable, and that loses it for them.
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