Critique: Nailed It

This was so bloody funny! To have a baking show specifically for bad bakes, to create a comedy, was a brilliant idea. Nicole presenting the show was such a good decision.

 

*****SPOILERS*****

 

As all the contestants are awful bakers, they have very creative ways of messing up.

One contestant was so busy snacking that he had no time to bake. So instead his task for the baking show was an iced apple.

People kept on using the weighing scales to melt things. Obviously this failed.

One contestant slammed an egg into the tabletop with the flat palm of their hand. I’ve never seen anything like it.

Instead of using a knife, one contestant used their hand to slice through butter.

One person melted a glass jug in the microwave. HOW?!

 

The judges laugh at what the contestants make on a regular basis. So regular that them not laughing is off-putting. They also give us amazing one-liners.

A guest judge saw someone’s awful bake and says, “I don’t know why you’re so confident.”

Nicole said that one contestants baking was so bad that not even her dog would eat it. Ouch.

Jacques said, “That almost looks good.”

One contestant got Jacques help but when he sees the final product he says, “I don’t think you listened to me at all when you pressed your panic button.” Burn.

 

Whoever made the decisions for this show deserves some sort of medal.

The glittery golden baker’s cap/hat was a fun idea that didn’t get old.

The fifth series, ‘Double Trouble’ was a fun way to mix it. But if it had gone on any longer, it would’ve become stale. So keeping it to one series only was good.

The fact that Nicole kept on wearing cosy slippers with really stunning outfits was amazing.

In later series, each cooking station (and the bakers’ aprons) had their own colour. This was a good visual.

When the screen shows the names of Nicole, Jacque and the guest judge, there’s a little description underneath. So on a cold-themed episode, having Nicole declared a ‘muff lover’ was almost too much.

 

Series six episode one was my favourite by far.

A contestant used a spoon to cut cookies. When told to use something else, they use a spatula instead. It makes you wonder about their decision-making capabilities is general life.

This episode had many first times on the show: first hair in the baking; first swear; and first fly in the baking.

Then the guest judge said, “I know you have bad bakers but you saved the special ones for me.” I’d happily rewatch this episode.

 

Other things are worthy of note.

It’s amazing how watching this show has made my perspective on what’s a good cake/cookie/etc has deteriorated.

Jacque’s plurals are all over the place. He says ‘cakes/cookies’ when he talks about one cookie/cake and says ‘baker’ when he’s talking about all three bakers.

Throughout all the series, contestants put too much flavouring in their baking. Apart from the butterscotch and chilli challenges: this time around they put in a smaller amount and they got told off for not using more. Wowza. It’s really unlike that the time contestants know not to use too much flavouring is the one time that this rule doesn’t apply.

I loved the theme music from series one to four. So much so that O would be happy to listen to it independently of the show. The theme music for series five and six were fine but so boring in comparison. If the new music had been for Double Trouble only, to really showcase its difference, that would’ve been better.

Across all the series, including the holiday specials, I only disagreed with the judges four times. Usually with competitions I disagree more than that in a single series! The judges also decide who failed the hardest in Round One and with these decisions I disagreed far more frequently.

 

This show was pure amazing brilliance. There aren’t enough superlatives to express how much I adore ‘Nailed It’.