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Archive through January 22, 2007

The TVClubHouse: Other Reality Shows ARCHIVES: Archives for 2008 - 1: Top Chef - Prior Seasons: ARCHIVES: Archive through January 22, 2007 users admin

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Grooch
Member

06-16-2006

Friday, January 19, 2007 - 5:58 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Grooch a private message Print Post    
I thought she was accusing Marcell. lol!

Gumby
Member

08-14-2004

Friday, January 19, 2007 - 6:00 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Gumby a private message Print Post    
This whole thing with the head shaving reminds me of the final Seinfeld episode where the 4 went to jail for watching and laughing while someone got mugged and not doing anything to stop it.

Personally, I think it was handled in the proper way. Cliff is the one who put his hand on another person and Cliff is the one who was sent home.

I agree with Costa that it is Marcel's decison as to whether to persue it or not. Apparently he doesn't feel it is worthy of pressing legal charges and that should be the end of it. It appears they have moved on from the issue. If that's enough for him, it's enough for me. JMHO.

Teachmichigan
Member

07-22-2001

Friday, January 19, 2007 - 6:37 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Teachmichigan a private message Print Post    
I have the almighty tivo, so I watched the head shaving part again (in slow-mo when it got to Marcel).

After the fun scene in the hall (Ilan, Sam and Elia laughting and talking about shaving), they head to the bathroom. A couple of confessionals --

As soon as Ilan takes the shaver to his head, Sam clearly says they're both crazy and he's NOT shaving his. (his actual words were a bit more colorful, but that was the meaning.:-) )

Cliff is shown taping Elia as Sam is shaving her head (we can see all three in the mirror -- Cliff has the camera). All the way through, the voice nearest the camera is easily identifiable as one of the contestants (Cliff, Ilan, etc.)

There are a few shots of Ilan sitting on the toilet as Sam shaves Elia's head (and that gal is moving around a LOT for having a man use clippers on your head!)

Next, it shows Cliff going in and pulling Marcel up (Ilan is taping because he says, "Samuel, Samuel, let's go" once Cliff has Marcel on the floor). He says that twice then yells louder, "Sam, Come on!"

At that point (early on) Marcel appears to be smiling as Cliff uses what looks like a wrestling move on him. That shot only lasts a second though. The camera then shows Sam on the couch, he's laughing, but you can't tell what he says because someone keeps yelling "Come On, Sam, Come on" and then it goes to Sam's confessional. "It was uncomfortable and awkward for everyone." Back to the videotape. The same person then yells "Elia come here" (at first I thought it was Ilan since it sounded so close to the camera, then thought it was Marcel) Elia says, "I can't" and the voice asks, "He's holding him down for nothing?" in the exact same voice that was "Elia come here" so it MUST be Ilan. This is where we see Cliff w/his hand around the back of Marcel's neck pushing his head to the floor (and this looks MUCH worse on slow-mo -- made me nauseous to see another human being do that to someone).

Cut to Marcel's confessional. As he says "Why I am like eating the carpet" we get the video cam view again -- Marcel and Cliff are still struggling and it looks like Marcel is getting his elbow up around Cliff's neck area as he starts to wiggle free; the camera pans to Sam still sitting on the leather lounger smiling.

The next shot shows feet -- one pair of socked feet planted firmly on the floor and another pair of bare feet at least 4 inches OFF the floor. As the camera moves up -- it is Cliff w/that hold on Marcel where his arms are under Marcel's arms then around the back of his head. Marcel is reaching behind his head to get loose.

As they walk toward the camera (weird as they're still locked together), we finally see Marcel get Cliff's hands apart, and Cliff's arms drop down. He lets Marcel go. The next shot is a bedroom (?) that is purple and Marcel is walking by, heading toward the double doors. I didn't see it at first, but as he goes around the corner, there appears to be somebody kneeling in the corner w/their face in their hands and a tank top on with black pants. It looks like Elia (arms are small) and she definitely has hair. -- It looks short to me (like maybe after she had cut part of it), but there is definitely hair there. Marcel's confession continues through this (he says "Obviously I'm angry and pissed off"), and then we hear Ilan's voice from the video say, "Come on, apologize to him now."

The double doors (bedroom?) slam shut but pop open enough that we can see Marcel's arm and back. Next we hear Cliff's voice from confessional come on and then it shows him in confessional. Right before they go to his face, there is a brief glimpse of Elia standing up from the corner, but try as I might it was soooo fast that even in slow-mo when I froze on that frame it was a complete blur. With the blurry shot, there is NO hair hanging down near her shoulders, but it may have been tied back or just partially cut. There is also a very brief shot of Sam still lying on the chaise lounge. He points and whispers "Go in there" to Ilan w/the camera.

Next we see Marcel in his boxers telling Ilan, "Get the f**k outta' here, dude" and shoving him so that we hear something get knocked around (furniture?) and see a wild shot of the walls. Marcel continues talking then (confessional) and says he just ran down the hall and went and slept on the bathroom floor (as Ilan keeps taping, we're back to Marcel w/a tank top and sweats on walking towards him/to the bathroom).

Cut to the "preview" of Tom coming in to have his "discussion" with Cliff.

When it returns, we see morning clouds/sun shot, Cliff waking up, and a cut to Elia sleeping in her sunglasses, bare head w/the picture of her on nightstand w/her hair. Must be back to production crew taping.

Marcel's confessional is about waking up cold (no blankets) w/rug burns on his elbows and arms.

(Posting -- my noisy son and friend just came up, so I'll watch the rest and see if there is any other "evidence" after they go back downstairs).

Teachmichigan
Member

07-22-2001

Friday, January 19, 2007 - 6:50 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Teachmichigan a private message Print Post    
Ok, after watching the next section, they just show Ilan and Cliff talking about feeling bad for what happened (words like "stupid decision" that is "regretted"). When Tom is talking, they show a black/white version of the video tape w/the initial take-down on the floor.

When Tom says they have to ask him to leave, Cliff's "shocked" face is priceless -- (I remember thinking the first time -- WOW! Good call, Top Chef!). He doesn't say a word though, and after a couple of seconds, Tom is more specific and cites the rules about touching someone in an agressive manner. Cliff looks unhappy, but doesn't say anything until he shakes his head yes and agrees to leave.

Tom leaves looking like a pissed off dad (his blog said it was his birthday and he WAS pissed -- but at all of them, not just Cliff). After Cliff has another confessional (saying he kicked himself in the ass), Tom goes to see the other three and explains that Cliff's leaving. He then finishes w/"This is STILL about the food and there is a judges' table tonight, so we'll see the four of you there." He doesn't wait for any response, just gets up and leaves (this sooooo reminds me of those "talks" with dad! LOL)

To his credit, Marcel does NOT smile or even look happy. He even says "I'm sorry things worked out the way they did" to Cliff and Cliff apologizes to him as he says his goodbyes. They all look rather shocked and sad. Marcel feels bad, compliments Cliff's cooking skills and worries about Cliff's reputation and Cliff wishes Marcel the best in their ending confessionals.

For the rest of the segment, they don't show any more video -- so that one shot of Marcel walking to the doors and slamming them was the only thing I saw that remotely might have shown Elia w/hair. Because of the two switches in clothes for Marcel (he had tank top/sweats on couch initially AND after he swears at Ilan and the boxers in between), AND because the darn camcorder did NOT show date and time, just those little blank lines, it is impossible to tell exactly the order of things.

Teachmichigan
Member

07-22-2001

Friday, January 19, 2007 - 7:18 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Teachmichigan a private message Print Post    
Ok --just something for fodder. At the judge's table they had a close up of Sam's hair as he turned around...and it is similar to Elia's when pulled back. I went back to the kneeling scene. The tank top is definitely black there (and Elia was wearing a white one earlier). Sam is shown in black pants and a black t-shirt. I still think it's Elia but it is possible the kneeler could have been Sam as the sound isn't consistent between the two shots (obviously edited). Is there any possibility that this was filmed AFTER it was all done (recreating type thing) because Elia's hair in the preview for the finale looked more like the hair on her kneeling (and she was wearing a black tank top).

The preview doesn't have anyone saying "cheat" in it -- it shows Ilan having problems w/a fire in his pot as Marcel mocks "Ilan, you should've done that in the flambe challenge." Sam says his nerves are shot and he's freaking out, Ilan says he didn't have everything prepared and ends w/Tom saying to Padma "He didn't cook any!" When she says "SO?" he replies, "This is a COOKING competition!" Then we see Marcel say "just f**in' say it" and Ilan is looking a bit uncomfortable. Tom comes back saying they're NOT judging their behavior in the kitchen, they're judging their food. Elia makes a face, and that's it. Made me think that Marcel was being bashed about his behavior in the kitchen, not cheating.

Grooch
Member

06-16-2006

Friday, January 19, 2007 - 7:54 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Grooch a private message Print Post    
Teach, I saw the preview 3 times, and I only saw the "cheating" line the second time I saw the preview. I remember this because the second time I saw it, I was like "wow" I don't remember seeing that the first time. And it was a pretty major thing. The next morning I couldn't remember what I thought was surprising. When I saw the preview the third time, there was nothing that stood out to me. It wasn't til I read Allietex's post that it jogged my memory.

Chy
Member

07-19-2003

Friday, January 19, 2007 - 8:54 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Chy a private message Print Post    
Uncomfortable, disgusted, dirty, ugly, ... to say the least. I had the same initial feeling as Jami did "reporting" it: It looked like a small portion of what a rape victim might go through!

Teach, didn't one of the three male "predators" said something like, .... we realized this is the last chance(?)/challenge(?) before finale and if we're gonna shave Marcel, now is the time.... . As I recall, this part was interjected in as confessions during the shaving of E&I. <BTW, thanks so much for doing that play by play. My video tape isn't as sharp as the Tivo, but it was still sickening!>

Costa, you know I respect the h&77 of you, but this time I can't agree with you about this "prank" that I'd rather call "disaster". You know everyone here would jump up to protect your rights to your opinion any day. But could you have been clouded by all the annoying antics of Marcel's in previous episodes?
As others mentioned up thread, they may be protecting Marcel by insisting "Marcel did not report it"! Every time I call about different neighbors burning garbage in the back yard, leaving their dog in the yard tied with no shade all day, couples fighting with loud threats or even kids using the street as skate park/basketball, football field/bike race track...., I always asked the authorities to "Please do not let them know I am the one who's making this complain!!" (:-) We are stuck in this house form DH's Noni.)

Another small possibility is that, this was not the first time they'd pull "pranks" on Marcel. M is so used to it he didn't think about reporting it at first. It's strange how Elia became best bud with Ilan so fast. Just because he's her new roomie, she did not step in to help M now. She could have been terribly drunk at the time of the "Man-handling" with or without her own hair, but still!! .... !!

Rehtse
Member

08-17-2005

Friday, January 19, 2007 - 9:09 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Rehtse a private message Print Post    
Too bad that only people who read the boards will have an inkling as to what may have happened to Marcel.

Chy
Member

07-19-2003

Friday, January 19, 2007 - 9:20 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Chy a private message Print Post    
Teach! Page 129 in Top Chef's thread at Sucks(under Other shows that suck) has a picture of Elia crutching on the floor whilst Marcel stormed through. With black tank top and pants, but it looks like Elia not photo shopped!

Costa, someone posted this interview of Cliff also:

http://www.chow.com/stories/10414

Perhaps Cliff's "Sorry" had no heart in it.

Chy
Member

07-19-2003

Friday, January 19, 2007 - 9:32 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Chy a private message Print Post    
One more thought just came to me:
If those four truely knew they were in the wrong, why didn't they erase/delete the tape? It sounds like they had the camera with them through the night. ???

But Tom C. did come in and had to wake them up and chase them out of the room in order to have a talk with Cliff. ??
It's really frustrating that we don't know all the facts like in BB's house.

Teachmichigan
Member

07-22-2001

Friday, January 19, 2007 - 11:08 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Teachmichigan a private message Print Post    
Chy - the only comment about this being their "chance" was Elia's comment that she's only going to be young for so long and be able to do this. Not a word about Marcel and this being their chance to get him (and I watched it at least 5 times tonight. :-) )

I went to the reality blurred site where they had a nice clear picture of Elia kneeling on the floor -- I had to laugh, though, as their pictures of her standing up were not any clearer than what I saw on my tivo.

It didn't appear that Tom woke them up -- Cliff wakes up but doesn't get out of bed right away, but I imagine the camera crew coming in to film Tom's meeting w/Cliff must've wakened them. It shows both Marcel and Ilan up w/t-shirts and sweats on, packing their bags, and no Tom there at all. Ilan says his thing to the camera about "being in the moment" and Marcel being "manhandled." Then it shows Cliff up and packing and he gives HIS confessional, but still no Tom.
Then we see Sam, Elia and Cliff at the breakfast table when in walks Tom. They show Marcel, now dressed in a dress shirt, lying on a couch. Tom greets him and asks if everyone is "out here." Then we see Ilan in a hoodie (over his previous t-shirt) look up where from where he's been lying on the opposite couch. Cliff, Sam and Elia listen to Tom from the table as he says he needs to have a discussion with Cliff says, "You guys need to head into the room" (bedroom -- where we next see them sitting on the beds and Tom and Cliff talk at the table).

Now I'm on a mission to find that OTHER preview! :-) If anyone has a link I'd LOVE to see it.

Maris
Member

03-28-2002

Sunday, January 21, 2007 - 4:20 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Maris a private message Print Post    
I was very disturbed by the attack on Marcel and I really couldnt stand him but nobody deserves to be violated like that.

Clif should have gone and others should have been disciplined as well. That nobody stopped it??? It was horrible, I was amazed he was even able to stay in the same apartment with those people, albeit even if it was sleeping on a bathroom floor.

Teachmichigan
Member

07-22-2001

Sunday, January 21, 2007 - 7:09 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Teachmichigan a private message Print Post    
I finally saw it! :-) The second spoiler shows them cooking outside, one of them asks who turned a burner down on low (Elia?) and later the word "cheat" does come up. Definitely looking forward to the FOOD part of the finale, but I hope the drama doesn't overshadow the meal preparations.

Alisons
Member

01-10-2003

Monday, January 22, 2007 - 3:05 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Alisons a private message Print Post    
I once took a drawing course at the Corcoran, and one of the things that our instructor (the head of the sculpture department) told us was to KNOCK OFF any "dramatic" behavior that would lead people to comment on our "artistic temperment." He said that that crap made it difficult for "real" full-time artists to get loans, etc. because there was this perception that they were a bunch of screwballs.

I can't help but think of that wrt this show and the behavior of the contestants. Don't they realize that they are not just representing themselves, but also the profession/position of chef? Not everyone knows a "real" chef, and the impression that they are giving is that numerous other factors take precedence over food and getting the job done.

I'm glad my profession (engineering) is too boring to have a reality show following!

Texannie
Member

07-16-2001

Monday, January 22, 2007 - 8:47 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Texannie a private message Print Post    
Marcel Speaks Up!

A few words with the contestant you love to hate—or hate to love—on Bravo's Top Chef

pretty long article, so here's the link
http://www.lasvegasweekly.com/2007/01/18/feature2.html

Julieboo
Member

02-05-2002

Monday, January 22, 2007 - 9:02 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Julieboo a private message Print Post    
Thanks Annie!

Rehtse
Member

08-17-2005

Monday, January 22, 2007 - 11:12 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Rehtse a private message Print Post    
Thanks, Texannie. Great article.

Maris
Member

03-28-2002

Monday, January 22, 2007 - 12:42 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Maris a private message Print Post    
It was a great article, quite an eye opener.

Dfng
Member

08-04-2005

Monday, January 22, 2007 - 2:34 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Dfng a private message Print Post    
I think Marcel has not learned anything from the show. He says in the beginning of the article that he doesn't trash talk people but then later he trash talks about Ian. That's why I don't like him on the show... one of many.

Julieboo
Member

02-05-2002

Monday, January 22, 2007 - 2:57 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Julieboo a private message Print Post    
His little bit of trash talk does not even come close to what he has received. Not that it is right, but if I were him I would be trash talking right back...

Rehtse
Member

08-17-2005

Monday, January 22, 2007 - 2:58 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Rehtse a private message Print Post    
Playing Devil's Advocate: would it make a difference if Ilan was "taking care of himself"?

Maris
Member

03-28-2002

Monday, January 22, 2007 - 3:02 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Maris a private message Print Post    
for 45 minutes???????????? Boy he must actually read the playboy articles as opposed to just looking at the pics.

Alisons
Member

01-10-2003

Monday, January 22, 2007 - 3:38 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Alisons a private message Print Post    
Well, there's no way I would ever eat anything Ilan made after I saw him hide chicken liver in the middle of a truffle, anyway. That is just WRONG.

But the thought of him in the restroom 'taking care of business' just makes me hope he washed his hands before cooking.

Good for Marcel for staying somewhat above the fray, even though he must have despised those other chefs!

Costacat
Member

07-15-2000

Monday, January 22, 2007 - 3:53 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Costacat a private message Print Post    
Note: It was a comment Marcel made (snarky?) about why Ilan was taking so long. It doesn't mean it was true.

And FWIW, I agree with Dfng... I was gonna comment but decided not to. But Marcel is certainly no better than anyone else with the little digs he got in on that interview.

Texannie
Member

07-16-2001

Monday, January 22, 2007 - 3:58 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Texannie a private message Print Post    
Is Marcel really any better than the rest them? Is this kind of like Catholic school with Mortal and Venial sins..it's ok to be just a little snarky but nothing worse?
I was much more impressed with how he handled it on the show. I am rather disappointed that he felt he needed to jump into the dig festival.