The Daily Star - Stay Tuned
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The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, August 15, 2014 2 By Shona Dustan TV Media G ordon Ramsay is a force to be reckoned with. After taking his na- tive Great Britain by storm, Ramsay has officially won over hearts — and television sets — on this side of the pond. His fourth series for the Fox net- work is now well into its sec- ond season, and with Ram- say's candid and colorful per- sonality as popular as ever, it shows no signs of slowing down. Catch a new episode of "Hotel Hell" airing Monday, Aug. 18, on Fox. The sophomore season of Ramsay's latest reality hit pre- miered in July and saw the world famous Scottish chef working his magic in Las Cru- ces, N.M., where Cali Szczaw- inski runs the Meson de Mesil- la Hotel, a Tuscan-style accom- modation in the middle of the New Mexico desert. Unfortu- nately — as with all of Ram- say's "Hotel Hell" subjects — her business model leaves much to be desired. Watching Ramsay swoop in with his characteristic brash bluntness is always a delight, and he re- ally didn't pull any punches for this season opener. After being besieged with images of how the plain, dirty, unprofessional hotel was be- ing run, fans got to revel in the carnage as Ramsay tore Cali's business acumen to shreds. A general manager was fired, cooks were given the third de- gree and, most importantly, Cali was banned from ever singing karaoke in her hotel again. One guest even told the woman, "I would pay you $100 not to sing," but Ramsay managed to make it happen without shelling out cash. By the end of the season premiere, it's clear that the great Gordon Ramsay still has that special something that has made him a fixture of both British and American TV — that plus an impressive phy- sique, as a quick dip in the Me- son de Mesilla Hotel's contam- inated pool reveals. This sea- son of "Hotel Hell" promises even more drama than the last, and it seems Ramsay is in his element once again. Oddly, though, Gordon Ramsay began his profession- al life in a job far from the hos- pitality industry. Once upon a time, he was a footballer (or soccer player, if that suits you better), though his short competitive career was marred by setbacks and injuries. When it came time for him to move into the big leagues, Ramsay had the dis- tinct honor of training with his beloved Glasgow Rangers, but fell short of taking the field for any professional games. As his dreams of playing professional football crumbled around him, the tenacious Ramsay had to make alternate plans for his future. After taking classes on hotel management and studying under some of the world's best chefs, Ramsay spent the late '80s and early '90s making a name for himself in the restau- rant world. Despite a few scandals (an affair with the wife of a restaurateur he worked for definitely created a bump in the road to success), Ramsay's work spoke for itself. By 1998, he had opened his own restaurant, and by 2001, he had become the first Scot to be awarded three Michelin stars. As his business interests ex- panded, so too did his empire. Soon he was opening restau- rants all over Europe and, eventually, in America as well. Meanwhile, his culinary and business skills — as well as his unpredictable personality — had already earned him some television time in the U.K. with the kitchen documentaries "Boiling Point" (1999) and "Beyond Boiling Point" (2000), as well as a BAFTA- winning episode of "Faking It" in 2001. But it wasn't until 2004 that Ramsay's television career really took off. "Ramsay's Kitchen Night- mares" premiered in Britain in 2004 and had a premise very similar to that of "Hotel Hell" — the famous chef would travel the U.K. dishing out tough love to failing restaura- teurs and doing what he could to help them turn things around. "Hell's Kitchen," Ram- say's first reality TV project, also premiered in 2004, wherein the Scottish chef mentored and critiqued hope- ful competitors, sending them home one-by-one until there was a winner. It didn't take long for Ameri- can television networks to re- alize Ramsay had something special. Fox jumped in first, wasting no time getting on the Gordon Ramsay bandwagon, and by 2005, the network was producing a U.S. version of "Hell's Kitchen," focusing on the drama that's so often whipped up by Ramsay's short temper, focus and perfection- ism. The series is still going strong, its 13th season set to premiere this September. In 2007, hoping to capital- ize further on America's love affair with the belligerent chef, Fox also produced a U.S. version of "Kitchen Night- mares." After seven successful seasons, the series was laid to rest last spring, but that doesn't mean the chef's pres- ence on the network has di- minished. In fact, Ramsay has expanded his horizons with the network. In 2010, he signed on as both producer and judge on Fox's U.S. ver- sion of "MasterChef," a show that's seen five seasons and is still going strong. Add that to a handful of British series Ramsay has developed and starred in on the side, and you've got one uber-busy chef. The latest collaboration between Ramsay and Fox, "Hotel Hell," was announced in 2012, and so far Fox has no regrets. Audiences love the dynamic of Ramsay's sharp tongue and heavy-handed approach to helping people make a go of their business- es. As the sassy chef travels the country, he leaves an in- delible mark — and hopeful- ly more successful businesses — in his wake. Catch a new episode of this dynamic series as "Hotel Hell" airs Monday, Aug. 18, on Fox. Christopher's Coins 2 x 2 coverstory Gordon Ramsay and Meson De Mesilla Hotel owner Cali Szczawinski as seen in "Hotel Hell" Dubious digs Ramsay checks into Fox for season 2 of 'Hotel Hell' By Adam Thomlison TV Media Q: Will "Nashville" return this fall? A: "Nashville" will indeed return, after quite a bit of travel- ing. When most shows "go away," it's just from the TV schedule. But this summer, the stars of "Nashville" went away from it all and hit the road, doing a concert tour to perform music from the show, and to promote the upcoming third season, of course, which premieres Wednesday, Sept. 24, on ABC. They're back now, but "back" for Connie Britton, Hayden Panettiere and the other stars of the series doesn't mean L.A. or even New York. The ABC musical drama, about would-be country stars trying to make it in the country music capital, films on location in Nashville. Filming got under way just a few weeks ago. "Nashville" is where Britton landed after the end of her pre- vious southern-set hit, "Friday Night Lights," and where Panet- tiere finally found a home again after making a splash on the sci-fi series "Heroes." Q: I saw an awesome Simon Pegg movie called "A Fan- tastic Fear of Everything," but I'd never heard of it. Why wasn't it as broadly advertised as his others, such as "Paul" or "Shaun of the Dead?" A: It seems most likely that the lack of a splash made by "A Fantastic Fear of Everything" can be chalked up to a chain of factors: 1. It was weird, so; 2. Critics didn't like it, so; 3. Distribu- tors didn't want it (at least not over here, and not at first). The film was only released in North America in 2014, first online and only later in a very limited theatrical run. It was re- leased in Britain, where it was made, in 2012, when it was sup- posed to come out, but the reviews weren't great. Had they been better, perhaps a North American distributor would have stepped up sooner. It was always chancy, though. "A Fantastic Fear of Every- thing" was Pegg's return to low-budget horror-comedy, the genre that brought him to fame with 2004's "Shaun of the Dead." However, that film's huge success was an anomaly — low-budget foreign horror-comedies don't tend to be big hits. Also, it was weird. "A Fantastic Fear of Everything" is a com- edy about an author who becomes so paranoid that he's afraid of even going to the laundromat (laundry seems to be a recur- ring theme in the film, and he spends large amounts of it wear- ing just a pair of briefs). Have a question? Email us at questions@tvtabloid.com. Please include your name and town. Personal replies will not be provided. hollywoodQ&A