FOX's New Shows for the 2007-08 Season

Kitchen Nightmares

Premieres: Wednesday, Sept. 19
Airs: Wednesdays at 9 p.m.

The Pitch: If you loved watching Gordon Ramsay rant and rave through the summer, why not listen to his obscenity-fueled tirades all year?

Gordon Ramsay travels the country visiting restaurants in crisis and helping them get their kitchens back in order.

What They Got Right: A lot of the time on "Hell's Kitchen," Chef Ramsay's salty language and confrontational attitude have seemed just a wee bit put-on, a personality trait he was playing up for American audiences. In the first two episodes of "Kitchen Nightmares," Ramsay is entering kitchens so disgusting, so in need of his form of tough love, that it's never been easier to root for him. The initial two restaurants are mismanaged, uncleaned, rotting cesspools and nearly everything Ramsay says or does seems reasonable.

What's Oh, So Wrong: Already the show has begun to face accusations of being staged and contrived, not that that's ever hurt a reality show before. Certainly in the episodes sent to critics, Ramsay's magical kitchen overhauls came across as just a bit too miraculous, just a bit too abrupt and unquestioningly uplifting.

Recommended If ...: Your appetite for kitchen-based shows remains unsated.

'Kitchen Nightmares' Preview

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