Iron Chef USA, Two Culinary Clashes

Rating:
Summary: Where no food has gone before......
Review: Ok, first of all I have to say that I love the original Japanese Iron Chef. I don't tape all the episodes to keep, but I certainly make an effor to tape them if I have to be out when it's on. Because I am such a fan of it, when I saw this advertised on UPN, I watched it, knowing it has Shatner in the role of the chairman. I'm also a trekkie, so I didn't exactly expect anything less than camp, glitz, and ham when you put Shatner and IC together. With the right kind of attitude, I rather enjoyed the show. I thought Kerry Simon needed a haircut though! But don't underestimate the culinary skills of these chefs. They definitely take their cooking seriously.

For that matter, the chefs on the Japanese version took their cooking very seriously too. I mean, c'mon, a feud between Kandagawa and the Japanese Iron Chefs? Just relax and enjoy the show, and maybe somewhere in there you'll also learn a thing or two that you can actually do to your food in your own kitchen, instead of the rarefied atmosphere of Kitchen Stadium.

But this one is something I'd not bother buying. If you can tape it off TV, however, it's fun enough to watch. But not really worth the money on the DVD, especially, as people have said, there aren't even extras to justify it. Oh the other hand, recently the Food Network had a week of shows with Sakai, Morimoto, Mario Batali and Bobby Flay, called Battle of the Masters. Now that's worth having, and it's out on DVD through Food Network.

Rating:
Summary: Let me explain
Review: The reason the original "Iron Chef" was such an awesome show was entirely due to the bad translation and over the top voice acting. Therefore, without these elements, it becomes a pathetic charade of the original program.

I was, at one time, a hardcore cult fan of "Iron Chef" because of the hilarious voice overs and true, foreign zest of Chairman Kaga and the gang. I really didn't care much for the cooking or whatever food was being prepared. The real heart of the show was the voiceovers and the mad, zesty zeal with which the Japanese chefs went over something as inane as cooking. I loved "Iron Chef" in much the same way as I loved the original "Mystery Science Theater 3000." They were both quirky tv cult shows that gave a certain sense of community among their hardcore fans.

This new show really doesn't cut it in any way, shape, or form. I'm not being unpatriotic or anything, I'm just saying why this new show is so weak. Also, I noticed that once the translators of the original show started figuring out the show was a huge hit, they ruined their own voiceacting by being all self concious. The original few seasons of the first "Iron Chef" are where it's at! Once again, I don't watch this show for the cooking, I watch it for the odd, bizarre translations and cheesy voiceacting.

Rating:
Summary: Takeshi Kaga would have been hopping mad.
Review: Torpid excuse for a domesticized version of an already classic cooking show from Japan. I only give credit for UPN 9's attempt to "cross over" the original IC from its inspirational Asian origin and into the American mainstream, but really this wasn't to much avail. I've read so many insulting remarks on this IC, and I believe them all...ESPECIALLY after my seeing only a few minutes of each of IC USA's only two specials (these). From that point on I was like, "Never again." The entire mess looks like it wants to blow the original off the face of the earth, but it didn't. I mean, this IS fine for people who like "Star Trek" pioneer William Shatner and who want a taste of crossover if little more.

The original's translation from Japanese to English while maintaining its original form is fine enough. Even "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers" was done more justice when brought into America from Japan's "Go Rangers." And the stars of that series were very easy to handle, no problem. I stopped watching them after the "Lightspeed Rescue" came into play. But since I'm talking culinary programs like IC, I love EVERYTHING about the original: the Kitchen Stadium, the cinematography, the seven talented Japanese cooks themselves, Chairman Takeshi Kaga...you name it. To me the true IC looks and feels like NOTHING on the Nielsen ratings - then, now, or probably ever. That's proof of my love for it. Emeril would have done a better take on it than Chris Kattan, Horatio Sans, and Charlie Sheen.

I didn't think Shatner would be the host of these limited edition "Iron Chef USA" specials. Unfair to the original, because I don't like this IC's scenery and the audience. The Kitchen Arena (based in Las Vegas!) looks horrible compared to the beautiful Asia-based Kitchen Stadium from the original "Tetsujin" (Iron Chef), the audience makes it seem more like a boxing match without the punching, and Shatner himself fails to deliver the same charm handsome Takeshi Kaga did on his IC. And the latter literally burns me up alive with his seductive looks and of course that sexy duke-like wardrobe, especially if he wears red (his China, France, 2000th Plate, New York, and King of Iron Chefs Tournament specials), white (his 21st Century Battle), or black (too many to mention!).

I'd rather see an animated version of Nickelodeon's "Guts" than this rubbish. Maybe Andrea Bocelli would have made a greater than ideal guest for the original IC if it were still in production, which it ain't no more. But there's no way in heck sexy Kaga's IC is going to be lucky enough to even GET a nomination for American or even foreign DVD release, if ever at all. Only buy this if you are so big an IC junkie that you wanna have EVERYTHING Iron Chef, even if this isn't among its best.

Hell hath no fury like a woman who loves the original "Iron Chef" so much that she accepts no imitations!!

Rating:
Summary: Not as bad as some Iron Chef fans would like you to believe.
Review: When I first saw the Japanese version of Iron Chef, I couldn't stop laughing. It was all so over-the-top, it was hard to believe this was actually a long-running show on Japanese television. After awhile, of course, I became hooked on the dubbed FTV version and stopped looking at IC as a fun, tongue-firmly-planted-in-cheek commentary on TV "battle" shows, and instead began thinking as IC as a super-serious test of culinary skills. But at it's core, Iron Chef is entertainment, pure and simple.

The Americanized version, I think, captures this original sense of hilarity, lameness, and mock-seriousness perfectly. All the elements from the Japanese version are here: the knowledgable/clueless commentator team, the meticulously dressed set, and of course, the larger-than-life "chairman", embodied here by William Shatner.

Personally, I think everyone involves does a good job in these two specials: the cooking is, for the most part, high caliber (and unlike most of the items on the Japanese version -- Natto, anyone? -- I wouldn't mind ordering these dishes in a restaurant), the commentary is amusing, and Shatner does a fine job in the chairman role. I was practically crying from laughter after Chairman Shatner delivered his "final thought" at the end of the first special, a dead-pan speech on how you should enjoy the "spice of life" on this "crystal ball called Earth".

These two syndicated specials were only shown in some TV markets, in many very late at night or without any advertisements. So if you missed ICUSA, or are just curious as to how it turned out, I say pick up this DVD. However, if you're an IC purist who thinks the show should never have been tampered with (too late, though: it's been dubbed), you may want to steer clear.