Show is hot, Ramsay’s not
Ratings are heating up for the fourth season of MasterChef. Over the course of the season, Canadian appetites have grown for the reality TV cook-off that’s not to be confused with Hell’s Kitchen, with a record audience of two million tuning in to see former pro football player Eddie Jackson eliminated from the game on July 31.
What’s so hot about Fox’s MasterChef? Why would we continue to watch Gordon Ramsay yell at people long past the Hell’s Kitchen finale? Because we can relate. Not so much to the yelling part, but to the cooking part: chopping onions for pastas, whipping up batches of cookies and frying large quantities of eggs sunny side up without destroying them completely. It’s all in a day’s work.
Ramsay, restaurateur Joe Bastianich and Chef Graham Elliot make an unlikely crew of judges. And since there’s no management spot up for grabs at one of his restaurants, Ramsay is a far more chilled out version of himself on MasterChef — proving the Scottish chef’s flaming temper isn’t the only recipe for ratings.
We’re down to seven contestants for tonight’s episode: comeback kid Bri, retail salesman James, yacht stewardess Jessie, delivery driver Jordan, paralegal Krissi, restaurant manager Luca and homemaker Natasha. (Fox, CTV — 10 p.m.)
Toby (Craig Olejnik) and gang discover that filming a horror movie can be even scarier than watching one, on an eerie episode of The Listener called House of Horrors. (CTV — 8 p.m.)
Overly friendly Head of Household Andy’s plan to nix either Jessie or Spencer this week will depend on who wins a crucial Power of Veto competition on Big Brother. (CBS, Global — 9 p.m.)
Duck Dynasty’s fourth season gets a romantic start, as duck commander Phil and his wife Kay celebrate their 49th anniversary. (A&E — 8 p.m.)