Ramsay, He So Shady!

So I've come to like 'Gordan Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares' on Fox. It's cool, it's gross and Ramsay usually can't go for more than two minutes without something being 'bleeped' out. Nine times out of ten, the turnaround is pretty cool to watch and plus, it's a cooking show, after a fashion, so it's interesting.

Thanks to my flossy, flossy new digital cable, I now have BBC America! (YAY!) And what am I watching- Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, the genial British version! And guess what? I think I saw Ramsay go for about 12 minutes without cussing- not once. The difference between the two shows is like night and day- Ramsay still comes across as a hardcore kind of chef, but it's like he took a valium when he did the British show- he's chiller, mellower- and even provides quiet, introspective narration that's lacking for the more 'in your face' attitude of its American counterpart.

I like this version of the show. I really do- Ramsay doesn't come across a total prick- and his intent to be more of a mentor to struggling restaurants, in a gentler, more guru-like mode is very evident here. Ramsay comes across a professional extraordinaire in the British show- in the American version of the show, he's more like a motivational speaker gone wrong- cussing and yelling and being a blunt instrument, an unstoppable, avalanche-like force of change.

Here, he's more subtle. Instead of swinging the baseball bat, he's playing the violin.