On Your Marks, Get Set, Baaaaake! A Thread for Great British Baking Show / Bake Off & all of its sundry delights

Dan’s sad terrible macarons on the final showstopper should be the final signal to all future bakers STOP TRYING TO PUT MACARONS ON YOYR CAKES IT IS STUPID AND UNNECESSARY AND WASTES SO MUCH OF YOUR TIME

I'm still convinced they just aren't giving enough time for the bakes in general, and especially in the finales. I want to see people make the very best cake they can make. Give them all day for all I care!

yeah they seem to be dicking with the time for added drama.

They do, it was all in Danny's blog a few years ago. They work out the shortest cooking time any of the contestants need then knock 30-60 minutes off.

I think I'm done with it. The showstoppers in the final were all god-awful and I don't think anybody stood out as good at any point. Talking up how excellent people were seemed to be just that, all talk, and the continued thirst trap of innuendo was just painful.

it does seem to upset you a bit more lately <3

I have just turned into a grumpy old man.

Josh seemed like a sweet but slightly fragile guy. I found the way final was edited ("Josh is gonna win! Ooops - no he's not") pretty gross. It seems to indicate a lack of aftercare for the contestants.

"turned into" ;-D

Here's an article entirely agreeing with you

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/dec/03/great-british-bake-off-triumphs-contestant-michael-chakraverty

If I ever said that I don't care about the personalities just give me the bakes, the previous season and this season proved me wrong. I was so bored last year that I didn't get around to this season until a few weeks ago and that was just because I got Netflix for another show; but this season had so many lovely contestants. Tasha was my favorite (her comment early on about how she shouldn't sell herself short hit me hard) and the final missed her, but I also adored Nicky and Saku (I melted a little when we saw their road trip). I kept waiting to be disappointed by Matty but his cheer never wavered and won me over, and I actually thought Josh was great, he strikes me as an introvert but over the course of the season you can see him warm up a little.

Also agreed with everyone that I found Dan annoying, and that the deliberate time shenanigans are cheap and artifical sensationalism.

Also also clearly the Captain Chaos of this season is Rowan.

And what's this Danny blog?

https://bakingastherapy.wordpress.com/2012/10/21/bake-off-confidential-bittersweet-adventures-in-a-tv-show/

Lays out just how much they have to do during applications.

The quote about them reducing time isn't in that so must be in another of the gbbo tagged posts.

New year's Day special tomorrow and then the kid's series starts at 5 on Tuesday, daily for 3 weeks.

Oh, hooray, Junior BakeOff is the best.

Watched it today, we are all fans of Esme's glasses.

Man, that invisible tart technical was a disaster. Such a classy bunch of kids to not lose the rag over it.

yesterday's spoilers, and in fact the opening of today's show, showed one tilly dropping her final showstopper on the floor from a great height. why?

Not spoiling the final, but it gets directly addressed.

Liam used the word 'flawless' in his wrap up

i didn't think it was great, too frou-frou, like an old lady cake

Any talk of actual baking is overshadowed for me by Ilham's excellent attitude to royalty. Now that is a well brought-up young person.