I like this show, and I saw the first episode of this season. When it comes to competition shows, I love the ones where the contestants are making some sort of art (be it special effects makeup on Face Off or tattoos on Ink Master). Here, they're making sculptures with food... each team consists of a top cake decorator, pumpkin carver and candy craftsmen. And they make wild sculptures of scenes involving things like zombies and devils.
The aim of the show seem to be making the contestants sweat under the intense pressure of a time constraint, eventually resulting in unfinished projects, broken pieces, and contestants in tears. Producers who hunger for the thrill of dramatic television must giggle with glee when an overly stressed candy artist accidentally drops their sculpture on the floor, losing hours of work.
As many of you know, this show (and the Food Network Challenge: Extreme Pumpkins) both featured famed pumpkin sculptor Ray Villafane, who pretty much ran away with the contest on every season he appeared. His work was always at such a high level, the sculpts looked like something you'd expect to see in a movie or toy store. I hate to say it, but much of the art on the show now almost looks amateurish by comparison. But under that time pressure, it's impressive that the projects still get finished at all.
It's still very interesting to watch. And it's fun to see the guest judges, many of which are horror icons (in the past we've seen judges like Tom Savini and Rob Zombie). Last week the guest was Danielle Harris, which made me think of you, Ghostface. I said, "I hope he's watching this, his girlfriend is on TV."