I happened to click across a showing of “Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares” tonight, but it was a very different format than I was used to.

Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares is one of my favourite reality tv shows, because he goes across the country, to bad restaurants, and tries to make them better.

Its a great show because Gordon Ramsay is such an entertaining character, smart, dedicated, yet, foul-mouthed and aggressive at times. He runs his kitchens like a drill sergeant punishing raw recruits. Harsh and unforgiving, he lets nothing by him, and at times drives his cooks to tears (Though in his words, “Salt water ruins the fucking sauce, so suck it up!”)

However, underneath his brash exterior is a man that knows his job, and business very very well. He understands how to make people perform better, and is a great judge of character.

Which is why, as I watched the UK verion of Kitchen Nightmares, that I was fascinated and entertained.

The differences between the American format and the UK format were pretty astonishing. The first thing I noticed was the sparing use of background music. In the US version, there was lots of ‘dun-dun-dunnn’ type music as events turn dramatic. However, in the UK version there was very little use of music, usually one or two strains of background music in the constant shots of Ramsay walking around.

The next was the different editing. In the US version, the show is edited to highlight any interpersonal conflicts and drama, complete with dramatic music. In contrast, the UK version represented most things rather evenly, like the lack of skill in areas, the competition, the area around them, their daily lives.

Seeing the different editing leads one to wonder just what is missing from the US version, and why. It makes one feel that the producers of the show have very different goals, and results to show. The american one is to show conflict and issue in everything that is done, showing Ramsay swearing and being angry, and no reaction from the abusee. The UK version instead showed off the various nuances of running a restaurant, from the skill of the cooks, to your supplier and your books.

Frankly, this annoys me. I want to know how a restaurant is run, and what the problems are. What they could be, what to watch out for. But I do not think most of the american audience cares what the problems are. They want to see foul-mouthed Ramsay make people cry. They want to see drama and rejuvenation, and heart-felt “Ramsay is so awesome!”.

Well, I suppose this means that shows with culture and intelligence will just become even rarer and rarer.