I give: What's "IOW"? I do like Hell's Kitchen, a lot. All reality competitions have an edited story line and a lot that goes on off camera, with whole other stories that actually happened but aren't as useful to the main story arc that aren't shown. They may have retakes on things that are important to the game when the shots get ruined, but those are basically, "Taste that again", and stuff like that. The reason these things work is that once the cast get to know the crew and they've been shooting a few days, or even hours, the cast gets used to the presence of the cameras, crew, cables, and all the rest, and just kind of ignore them. They actually forget they're there, even when they have appointments to sit with a producer asking them snarky questions one on one (you only see the responses, not the producer or questions) to provide commentary and to stir up trouble. Basically, though, they don't actually script off camera. They tell them, and may even rehearse them, on where to line up, maybe what the structure of the occasion is (made up example, "Contestant X will take your covered dish to the tasting table."), but the manipulation is mostly through editing. I don't think there's actually anything pre-ordained. If nothing else, that would be illegal because this is a contest with prizes. In the editing, they often telegraph where the story is going, but that's part of putting together a good story by choosing the clips and angles that pull the viewer into the particular episode. Because I'm doing computer work at home all day, I tend to run the TV for company and love these kinds of shows because they're undemanding of my attention except for the approximately five minutes when something actually happens. I totally agree that Gordon Ramsay is entertaining. He is a former soccer player and a very highly respected chef. He gained a reputation in England for being good TV by participating in shows where they needed a great chef, became a star and started doing a lot of shows both there and here. What you're seeing in Season 5 of Hell's Kitchen is the character he plays on TV. Foul mouthed, demanding, verbally abusive in a drill sergeant way, etc. Occasionally you'll get glimpses of him being a normal, caring, gentleman, which I'd guess is his at home self. I promise I won't give you rank spoilers, but I will tell you that, just as with drill sergeants and recruits, Ramsay gets the best out of the contestants. They learn a hell of a lot in Hell's Kitchen. But they don't get coddled. Reasons why I respect Gordon Ramsay? He believes that the point of what they're doing is to please the customers with the food, and he demands that they produce dishes that are cooked properly, including to the amount of doneness requested. I can't tell you how angry hoity-toity chefs make me when they go on TV and insist that they know better than diners how they'd like to eat their meat. Ramsay demands immaculate kitchens and correct food handling. He demands that things be done right. He respects a good hamburger as much as a good quail's egg. And he will give compliments freely where they're due.

I too noticed the number of smokers on the show. Seems disproportionately high to me. Plus given how so many shows can't even show smoking I have to wonder about the incentives, if any, that are there. Just seems strange. And they're never standing outside smoking, huddled in a circle by the back door... Seems to me one of them, ("LA" maybe?) actually made a comment on one of the shows this year to the effect that I smoke so that might affect it, but it tasted OK to me.

My thought would be different pull strategies for different kitchens. In a small kitchen I would strive for as much uniformity as possible, because one doesn't have as many repeating elements to work with, like banks of drawers or doors, as a larger kitchen does. Also, in a small kitchen one is likely to have less detailing like elaborate moldings, etc. If your kitchen was my kitchen I would probably do all one size pull, or all the same on the base cabinets and smaller on the upper cabinets. Also, I would really pay attention to how the pulls feel to your hand. If possible, mount some on scrap wood and grab them? I am liking the trend towards larger pulls for that reason. Thinking of my vintage dresser that has too-small pulls right now. Badgergal - I really like the scale of the pulls that you picked, and how they mimic the fridge pulls. Jellytoast - I like the pulls that you picked. If you wanted to nudge towards mimicking the look of your fridge pulls, however, you could look for bar pull-style handles without the clothing-catching ends.

Thanks for everyone's help! Amanda: Thanks for the compliments on my cabinet pulls. I got them online for $2.49 each! Heard about them on this forum. I "think" they came from "my home hardware" or something like that. I hadn't even thought about white stools. I keep going back and forth trying to match the dark cherry furniture or going totally opposite and getting metal stools with a pewter finish. If I got stools to match the cherry wood, do I have to match my dining chairs? I want stools with a back that swivel with no arms. I can find stools that match my cherry wood, but they're in a totally different style than my ladderback dining chairs. I'm so MUCH a matchy match girl, it's terrible! Below is a link to a stool I saw at JC Penney that I thought would look nice, but not sure if it's too much. Barb Here is a link that might be useful: What do you think?