The Magical World of “The Great British Baking Show”
At some point this weekend, depending on your local PBS station’s schedule, we will see this year’s season finale of “The Great British Baking Show” here in the US. It may also be the very last episode of this wonderful program we ever see this side of the pond.
I say “this year’s season”, but what I really mean is “the season PBS is airing this year”, which was originally released and aired in the UK back in 2012. It’s a complicated and slightly sordid story, but no matter — I (and so many others) are loving it just the same, and we will take all we can get. But why? What makes this pleasantly unassuming little competition show so gosh-darn appealing to us Yanks?
In a world where cooking competition shows are a dime a dozen, and where ever more improbable competitions are continuously hacked together to satisfy some imaginary need, #GBBS (#GBBO back in Blighty) comes across as more of a fairy tale than a competition. Our heroes and heroines gather at the beginning of each episode, step across a dainty wooden bridge, traverse a meadow nodding with wildflowers, and enter a mighty tent, complete with side panels rippling and banners aflutter in the breeze. They are joined inside by a strict but loving fairy godmother, two insatiable court jesters, and a big bad wolf with piercing blue eyes. It’s a magical world filled with…
