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Iron Chef America
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Iron Chef America
Also known as
Iron Chef America: The Series
Genre
Reality television
Cooking show
Presented by
Alton Brown
Kevin Brauch
Mark Dacascos
Starring
Mario Batali (retired)
Bobby Flay
Wolfgang Puck (retired)
Masaharu Morimoto
Cat Cora (retired)
Michael Symon
Jose Garces
Marc Forgione
Geoffrey Zakarian
Alex Guarnaschelli
Stephanie Izard
Composer(s)
Craig Marks
Country of origin
United States
Original language(s)
English
No. of seasons
11
No. of episodes
205 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)
Stu Schreiberg
Producer(s)
John Bravakis
Steve Kroopnick
Location(s)
Los Angeles, California
New York City
Editor(s)
Morgen Kassel
Camera setup
Multi-camera
Running time
46 minutes
Release
Original network
Food Network
Original release
March 6, 2005 (2005-03-06) – September 6, 2014 (2014-09-06)
Chronology
Related shows
Iron Chef
Iron Chef UK
The Next Iron Chef
Iron Chef Gauntlet
Iron Chef Showdown
External links
Website
Iron Chef America is an American cooking show based on Fuji Television's Iron Chef, and is the second American adaptation of the series, following the failed Iron Chef USA. The show is produced by Food Network, which also carried a dubbed version of the original Iron Chef. Like the original Japanese program, the program is a culinary game show. In each episode, a new challenger chef competes against one of the resident "Iron Chefs" in a one-hour cooking competition based on a secret ingredient or ingredients, and sometimes theme.
The show is presented as a successor to the original Iron Chef, as opposed to being a remake. The Chairman is portrayed by actor and martial artist Mark Dacascos, who is introduced as the nephew of the original Japanese chairman Takeshi Kaga. The commentary is provided solely by Alton Brown, & Kevin Brauch is the floor reporter. The music is written by composer Craig Marks, who released the soundtrack titled "Iron Chef America & The Next Iron Chef" by the end of 2010. In addition, regular ICA judge and Chopped host Ted Allen provided additional floor commentary for two special battles: Battle First Thanksgiving (Symon/Flay v. Cora/Morimoto) and Battle White House Produce (Batali/Lagasse v. Flay/Comerford).
Per the introduction fiction from the Battle of the Masters miniseries (and ignoring story elements from the 2002 Iron Chef Japan Cup Special), Chairman Kaga (the character) has ordered his nephew to continue the tradition of Kitchen Stadium, initially in Los Angeles, where the Battle of the Masters took place, before establishing a permanent Kitchen Stadium in New York's Chelsea Market. For the Battle of the Masters, the elder Chairman dispatched two Iron Chefs: Hiroyuki Sakai and Masaharu Morimoto. In Season 11, the show's fiction expanded to include international Iron Chefs, spread by the Chairman "like Johnny Appleseed". In the first episode of that season Iron Chef UK chef Judy Joo competed on the US show against Iron Chef Guarnaschelli as an Iron Chef.
Unlike the original Iron Chef or Iron Chef USA, Alton Brown, rather than the Chairman, is credited as the show's host.
On July 25, 2017 Alton Brown tweeted that Iron Chef America would be returning in last quarter of 2017 as Iron Chef Showdown. His announcement from Food Network currently lists Iron Chefs Bobby Flay, Michael Symon, Jose Garces, Alex Guarnaschelli, and Stephanie Izard as competing. No mention was made of Iron Chefs Masaharu Morimoto, Marc Forgione, or Geoffrey Zakarian. It was also confirmed that the Chairman Mark Dacascos would be returning, while the role of floor reporter would be going to former ESPN reporter Jaymee Sire.[1][2] On October 9, 2017 it was announced that Iron Chef Showdown would premiere on Wednesday November 8th with a Thanksgiving episode. The series was confirmed to have ten episodes for the season.[3]
Contents
[hide]
1 The Iron Chefs
1.1 Iron Chef statistics
1.1.1 Current
1.1.2 Former
1.2 Jackets
2 History
3 Format
3.1 Special battles
3.2 Greatest moments
4 Production details
4.1 Kitchen Stadium
4.2 Subtitles and dubbing
5 Companion shows
5.1 Countdown
5.2 The Next Iron Chef
6 Video game
7 See also
8 References
9 External links
The Iron Chefs[edit]
On this version of Iron Chef, the Iron Chefs have either been previous Food Network personalities, are current personalities, were part of the original Iron Chef, or earned their position on The Next Iron Chef.[4]
Iron Chef statistics[edit]
The win/loss data is based solely on the performance of the participant as an Iron Chef in Iron Chef America: The Series and the Battle of the Masters (BOM).
Current[edit]
Iron Chef
Seasons
Specialty
Win
Loss
Draw
Total
Win %[a]
Flay, BobbyBobby Flay BOM, 1 – 12 Southwestern 43 16 2 61 .721
Forgione, MarcMarc Forgione[b] 9 – 12 Modern American 7 7 0 14 .500
Garces, JoseJose Garces[c] 8 – 12 Latin Fusion 16 7 0 23 .696
Guarnaschelli, AlexandraAlexandra Guarnaschelli[d] 11 – 12 Modern American 4 3 0 7 .571
Morimoto, MasaharuMasaharu Morimoto[e] BOM, 1 – 12 Japanese 26 17 1 44 .602
Symon, MichaelMichael Symon[f] 5 – 12 Mediterranean 34 7 1 42 .821
Zakarian, GeoffreyGeoffrey Zakarian[g] 10 – 12 Modern American 9 5 0 14 .643
Jump up ^ Based on weighted average (.5 victory for a draw). The win/loss data is based on the performance of the Iron Chef in Iron Chef America: The Series and the Battle of the Masters.
Jump up ^ Forgione's record does not include his victory over Marco Canora in the finale of The Next Iron Chef as Forgione did not hold the title Iron Chef during that battle.
Jump up ^ Garces's record does not include his defeat of Flay in Battle Melon, or his victory over Jehangir Mehta in the finale of The Next Iron Chef as Garces did not hold the title Iron Chef during either battle.
Jump up ^ Guarnaschelli's record does not include her loss to Cora in Battle Farmer's Market, nor her victory over Amanda Freitag in the finale of"The Next Iron Chef" as Guarnaschelli did not hold the title Iron Chef during either battle.
Jump up ^ Morimoto's record includes his battle as a competitor in the Battle of the Masters, but does not include his battles against Bobby Flay while an Iron Chef on the Japanese program, nor does it include his 16-7-1 record as an Iron Chef in the original Japanese program.
Jump up ^ Symon's record excludes his loss to Morimoto in Battle Asparagus, and his victory over John Besh in the finale of The Next Iron Chef, which took place prior to his becoming an Iron Chef.
Jump up ^ Zakarian's record does not include his loss to Morimoto in Battle Sardines, or his victory over Elizabeth Falkner in the finale of The Next Iron Chef as Zakarian did not hold the title Iron Chef during either battle.
Former[edit]
Iron Chef
Seasons
Specialty
Win
Loss
Draw
Total
Win %[a]
Batali, MarioMario Batali BOM, 1 – 6 Italian 19 5 0 24 .792
Cora, CatCat Cora 1 – 10 Greek/Mediterranean 21 12 1 34 .632
Puck, WolfgangWolfgang Puck[b] BOM California cuisine 1 0 0 1 1.000
Jump up ^ Based on weighted average (.5 victory for a draw). The win/loss data is based on the performance of the Iron Chef in Iron Chef America: The Series and the Battle of the Masters.
Jump up ^ Wolfgang Puck was an Iron Chef for one battle, during the Iron Chef America: Battle of the Masters mini-series; he defeated Iron Chef Morimoto. When the show was picked up as a regular series, Puck could not remain an Iron Chef, and was replaced by Morimoto. He is considered as a retired Iron Chef.
Jackets[edit]
Each Iron Chef wears a specially designed chef's jacket, a simplified version of the more stylized attire worn by the Japanese Iron Chefs, along with an apron and trousers of their choice for each battle. Through the Battle of the Masters and the show's first six seasons, the Iron Chefs wore contemporary denim chef's jackets with individualized solid-colored patches and trim: Batali's jacket trim was red, Cora's pink, Flay's blue, Morimoto's white, Puck's green and Symon's black. On the left shoulder of each jacket was a flag representing the Chef's country of origin.
During the show's sixth season, designer and Iron Chef America judge Marc Ecko designed new jackets for the Iron Chefs, which were first worn on the 2008 "Thanksgiving Showdown" episode. The jackets are individualized for each chef and include features such as short sleeves for Symon's jacket that make it resemble the black shirts he wears at his restaurant, Lola, or men's kimono styling and colors for Morimoto's jacket that suggest the costume he wore on the original Iron Chef. With the exception of Symon and Garces (whose long sleeves were shortened for his second season on ICA), the jackets have long, turn-back sleeves. Colors differ by chef: charcoal grey (Flay), black (Symon), light blue (Cora), silver with a red undershirt (Morimoto), white with light brown trim (Batali), white with green trim (Lagasse, for Battle White House produce), brown with wide red edging (Garces), grey with white trim (Forgione), grey with black trim (Zakarian), and black with white trim (Guarnaschelli). "Iron Chef" with the chef's last name underneath is embroidered in the font from the show's logo on the left front side of the jacket, in the manner of a traditional chef's coat. The jackets also include a large embroidered Iron Chef patch on the right arm also bearing the chef's name, and an American flag on the left sleeve.
History[edit]
Team members assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion, Gulfport, Miss., give a set of BDUs with her name on them to Chef Cat Cora
Iron Chef America first aired as a special titled Iron Chef America: Battle of the Masters. Unlike Iron Chef USA, Iron Chef America quickly earned legitimacy with the appearance of Iron Chefs Hiroyuki Sakai and Masaharu Morimoto. (Chen Kenichi was also originally slated to appear, but he was absent due to a scheduling conflict.) The first Battle of the Masters involved Sakai and Flay, with the theme of trout. There, Sakai had made two dishes of note: one was gift-wrapped to commemorate the opening of Kitchen Stadium America, while the other was trout ice cream, a dish that would be repeatedly recalled and referred to later on when anyone used the ice cream maker. Other battles in Battle of the Masters were Morimoto taking on Batali, Morimoto taking on Wolfgang Puck, and a tag team battle where Morimoto and Flay teamed up against Sakai and Batali. Battle of the Masters was largely successful and a regular series was commissioned.
The regular series is taped in New York, while Battle of the Masters took place in Los Angeles at Los Angeles Center Studios. Because of his other interests, Puck was forced to decline to appear in the regular series, and Morimoto took his place. Later that season, Cat Cora debuted as an Iron Chef during "Battle Potato", becoming the first female chef to hold the rank.
The second season of Iron Chef America began airing in July 2005. This season saw its first and second ties on the American show: the first aired on July 31, 2005, with both challenger and Iron Chef receiving 45 points. In this case, unlike Iron Chef, there is no overtime, although a rematch was suggested by Alton Brown. The third such tied result occurred in Season Three, when Susur Lee challenged Bobby Flay in Battle Bacon.
Starting November 2006, Australia's SBS, the domestic rights holder to the original Iron Chef program, started airing Iron Chef America: The Battle Of The Masters, replacing the original Japanese incarnation of the program. On December 9, Season 1 of Iron Chef America began airing. The show was scheduled to run until February 17, 2007, but due to viewer feedback, SBS ended broadcast of Iron Chef America three weeks early and resumed showing the original Iron Chef on February 3, 2007.
Starting in Season 8, Mario Batali was dropped from the show's opening sequence, though he continues to appear in on-air promos for the show. Despite his appearance during the special battle in which he was teamed up with Emeril Lagasse against Flay and White House Chef Cristeta Comerford, it is not clear whether or not he will return to compete in Iron Chef America on a regular basis. In a July 2010 interview with Slashfood's Allen Salkin, Batali explained that his absence from the series was due to travel conflicts with the show's summer shooting schedule and expressed a desire to appear in 2-3 battles for Season 9.[5] However, in a May 2012 interview with The Atlantic, Batali later explained that he resented the decision to move away from serious food critics to "skinny little actresses" and other personalities he felt weren't credible enough to judge his cuisine.[6] After the 2014 season, the show was put on hiatus; it has not returned as of 2017 and many important personnel have moved on to other projects.
On July 25, 2017 Alton Brown tweeted and Food Network announced that Iron Chef America would be returning in last quarter of 2017 as "Iron Chef Showdown". [7][8]
Format[edit]
See also: List of Iron Chef America episodes
After the active Iron Chefs are introduced by Alton Brown, the challenger chef is introduced. The Iron Chef introduction sequence is sometimes skipped in the holiday shows and other specials. In the first two seasons, the Chairman announced the challenger's Iron Chef opponent. Starting with Season 3, the show returned to the format of its predecessor, where the challenger chef selects the Iron Chef they will battle. In reality, the match-ups are determined well in advance in all three incarnations of the show, which is not to say that the challengers have no influence on the selection of their opponent.
An ingredient or group of ingredients (referred to as the "secret ingredient(s)") is revealed, and the cooking begins. On occasion, the ingredients are actually a 'theme meal;' for example, eggs, bacon, potatoes, etc. are revealed and thus the "secret ingredient" is breakfast. Just as with the original Iron Chef, the "secret" ingredient is not truly secret. Both the competitor and the Iron Chef are given a list of three to five ingredients before the battle, of which one will be the secret ingredient.[9]
Unlike Iron Chef, where chefs had roughly 5 minutes to discuss their strategy before the battle begins, the revelation of the theme ingredient occurs 45 minutes before the start of the battle. However, this segment is not shown on television, and it is a common assumption that the battle starts immediately after the secret ingredient is revealed. This practice was described on an episode of Unwrapped.
The Chairman announces the start of each battle with:
"So now America, with an open heart and an empty stomach, I say unto you in the words of my uncle: 'Allez cuisine!'[10][11]
"There's the Chairman's familiar "Allez Cuisine!" the French phrase that calls the Iron Chefs to culinary battle."
—Alton Brown (Flay v. Tsai)
"Allez cuisine!" (loosely translated as "Go cook!" or "Start cooking!") is the phrase that started battles in the original Japanese series (hence the reference to his uncle, Chairman Kaga).
On Iron Chef America, both the challenger and the Iron Chef have 60 minutes to prepare a minimum of five dishes based on a theme ingredient. Starting with Season 11 (2012–13), the first course is due to the judges 20 minutes after the start. After that point, a "culinary curveball" is announced by the chairman. It can be an ingredient, piece of equipment or plating device. Each chef is required to integrate the item into at least one of their remaining dishes, and receives scoring from the judges based on their use.
After the first commercial break, Brown typically asks Kevin Brauch to introduce the judges. Generally, Kevin pays homage to the program's origins by adding, Konban Wa (Japanese for "Good evening") to his introduction. Unlike the original series, none of the judges participate in the running commentary, although Brown or Brauch visit with them roughly mid-battle for their comments on the ongoing action and the secret ingredient. Over the course of the cooking hour, Brown may also provide further information on the theme ingredient, using visual aids as required.
The dishes are tasted by the chairman and a panel of three judges, two of whom are professional food critics (a contrast to the original Iron Chef, which typically had one professional food critic as a judge). Like the original Iron Chef, each chef can be awarded up to 20 points by each judge; consisting of 10 points for taste, 5 for plating (the appearance or presentation of the dishes), and 5 for originality. The rules are explained by Kevin Brauch before judging. The chef with the higher score is declared the winner. If there is a tie, it remains as the final result, unlike Iron Chef, where an overtime battle was immediately called with a new theme ingredient; however, if the overtime battle also resulted in a tie, that would be the final result. (Also in contrast with the original, the final scores are subdivided by category, rather than by individual judge.) Starting with Season 11 (2012–13), an additional 10 points per judge is also available: up to 5 points for the first dish presentation, and up to 5 points for the use of the "culinary curveball". The scoring for the first dish is revealed shortly after the dishes are presented to and tasted by the judges, and the total score (including the "culinary curveball" points) is reserved for the judgment and revelation of the winner.
Iron Chef America is not affiliated with any culinary institution, unlike Iron Chef, which was associated with Hattori Nutrition College. Chefs also bring in their own sous-chefs. Like Iron Chef, each chef is allowed two sous-chefs. In tag-team or two-on-one battles, both chefs on one side each bring one sous-chef. On the original Iron Chef, early episodes had two chefs without sous-chefs, while later episodes had two chefs and one sous-chef per side. The sous-chefs employed by the Iron Chefs are as follows:
Batali – Anne Burrell and Mark Ladner
Cora – Lorilynn Bauer, David Schimmel, Ed Cotton, Richard Blais (other sous-chefs have been employed on occasion)
Flay – Flay employs a rotating staff of sous-chefs from his restaurants
Morimoto – Ariki Omae, Makoto Okuwa, and Jamison Blankenship (other sous-chefs have been employed on occasion)
Symon – Cory Barrett and Derek Clayton
Garces – Dave Conn, MacGregor Mann, Jessica Mogardo
Forgione – rotating staff of sous-chefs from Forgione's restaurants
Zakarian – Paul Corsentino, Eric Haugen, Alex Guarnaschelli (before her promotion to Iron Chef)
Guarnaschelli – Ashley Merriman and Wirt Cook
All of the sous-chefs for both the Iron Chef and challenger are informally introduced at some point in the contest, unlike the original Iron Chef. Sous-chefs have occasionally entered into battle against Iron Chefs, including the Iron Chef under whom they worked.
The rules in Iron Chef America are thought to favor the Iron Chef less[citation needed] than the original program, however, some challengers have noted favoritism in the selection of theme ingredients.[12] On Iron Chef the Iron Chef's food was always tasted second, while on Iron Chef America, the chef whose food is tasted first is determined by toss of coin before the show.
As the tasting and judgment take upwards of 45 minutes to complete (although it is edited down in post-production), the chef serving second is allowed to reheat his or her dishes, which was allowed on Iron Chef.
Several of the secrets to how the show is taped were revealed in an episode of Unwrapped entitled "Food Network Unwrapped 2." It was stated that the chefs find out what the secret ingredient is about 15 minutes before the battle begins because the opening sequence is recorded many times. It is only the final taping of this sequence where the words "Allez cuisine!" are said and the battle begins. Moreover, at the end of the one-hour battle, the chefs must still prepare 4 plates of each of their 5 dishes for the judges and the Chairman. This is done during a 45-minute period after the battle ends and before tasting begins. They consider this to be part of the competition, and it is timed, but it is not recorded or shown to the viewers. The plates which the audience sees prepared during the one-hour battle are the plates used to obtain close-up footage of the dish for use in the final episode. Usually, on taping days, two different battles will be taped, one beginning at about 10 a.m. and the second at about 4 p.m. A Food Network crew has about 90 minutes between each show to clean the set and prepare for the second show.
Chefs provide the producers with shopping lists for each of the possible secret ingredients. Consequently, they can surmise what the secret ingredient will be just before it is officially revealed, based on which of their items were purchased.[12]
Special battles[edit]
ICA will occasionally stage special themed battles, generally during the holiday period. The first of these was held on November 12, 2006. A special 90-minute episode of Iron Chef America pitted two guest Food Network personalities, Giada De Laurentiis and Rachael Ray, the latter of whom does not consider herself a chef due to lack of formal training, against each other after they each received tips and training from Iron Chefs Bobby Flay and Mario Batali, respectively. While the early part of the episode made it appear as though it would be a head-to-head battle, the Chairman announced just prior to the secret ingredient reveal that it would in fact be a tag-team battle, with each of the women joined by the Iron Chef who trained her. The secret ingredient for the special was cranberries. The expanded timeframe allowed for longer cuts of the competition hour and the tasting segments to be presented, and the show as a whole had a more laid-back feel than regular ICA episodes. Plenty of joking and good-natured ribbing took place on both sides of the kitchen, such as Batali's effort to "bribe" the judges with cranberry bellini cocktails. The battle was won by Iron Chef Batali and guest chef Ray.
A second special holiday episode premiered on Sunday, November 25, 2007. This special, titled Iron Chef America: All Star Holiday Dessert Battle, paired Iron Chef Cat Cora and popular Food Network personality Paula Deen against fellow Food Network chefs Tyler Florence and Robert Irvine, with sugar as the secret ingredient. While this special was the usual 60-minutes in length, the tone was similar to the previous ICA special, with lots of "smack talking" and teasing among the four chefs. Iron Chef Cora and guest chef Deen's team emerged victorious.
On October 26, 2008, a Halloween battle took place between Iron Chef Michael Symon and former Next Iron Chef competitor Chris Cosentino. The theme ingredient was offal (organ meats, pig trotters, coxcombs, etc.), an ingredient with which each of the chefs is known to cook routinely. Igor and the Monster from the Broadway production of Young Frankenstein also made a special appearance, assisting with the presentation of the secret ingredient. The victory went to Iron Chef Symon.
A 90-minute "Thanksgiving Showdown" premiered on November 16, 2008. The secret ingredients were foods that might have been used at the first Thanksgiving feast: duck, lobster, heritage turkey, venison, leeks and walnuts. This battle marked the first time in ICA history that the American Iron Chefs competed against each other, with the team of Bobby Flay and Michael Symon battling against Cat Cora and Masaharu Morimoto. There were two floor reporters for this special: regular floor reporter Kevin Brauch covered Flay and Symon while ICA judge Ted Allen covered Cora and Morimoto. In addition, Mark Ecko appeared early in the episode to present the new Iron Chef jackets and describe the design process. Iron Chefs Flay and Symon defeated Iron Chefs Cora and Morimoto by one point.
First Lady Michelle Obama's White House Kitchen Garden was featured in a new special episode on January 3, 2010. The episode, called "The Super Chef Battle", featured Iron Chef Mario Batali and Super Chef Emeril Lagasse against Iron Chef Bobby Flay and White House Executive Chef Cristeta Comerford in a battle that required the chefs to create an American meal, with the produce from the White House garden as the secret ingredient. First Lady Michelle Obama made a special appearance, welcoming the chefs to the White House, and announcing the secret ingredient.[13] This battle was also notable as the first for which the Chairman was not present in Kitchen Stadium. Although the Chairman appeared on video, and presented a supplemental range of sustainable foods to be used in the battle, it fell to announcer Alton Brown to start the battle with the traditional "Allez cuisine!" This battle was also the first that carried a prize: $25,000 was donated to City Meals, a New York charity similar to Meals on Wheels in the names of the winning team. Iron Chef Flay and Chef Comerford defeated Iron Chefs Batali and Lagasse.
On January 2, 2011, "Battle Deep Freeze" aired. The show featured Iron Chef Michael Symon and Chef Anne Burrell facing off against Iron Chef Cat Cora and Chef Robert Irvine. There was no formal secret ingredient, just the theme "deep freeze." The chefs had to prepare 5 dishes, each with a frozen component, on the following five themes: Fruits and Vegetables, Meat, Aromatics, Seafood, and Alcohol. The dishes were either served in or accented by ice carvings.
Greatest moments[edit]
On November 16, 2008, the Food Network preceded its "Thanksgiving Showdown" ICA special with a half-hour retrospective of the 10 best ICA moments. In the program, the Chairman presents each moment, followed by a female voice-over narration describing the challenge the Iron Chefs face, including live fish, big ingredients, time, the ice cream machine and unorthodox cooking methods. The introduction is followed by a clip of each moment interspersed with comments by the Iron Chefs and ICA judges.
Number
Title
Battle
Competitors
Moment
1
It's Alive! Cobia Mario Batali v. Jamie Oliver Sous chef Gennaro Contaldo's distraction antics
2
Sugar Smack Sugar Cat Cora/Paula Deen v. Tyler Florence/Robert Irvine Paula Deen's verbal warfare
3
The Bird is the Word Garlic Mario Batali v. Chris Cosentino Chef Cosentino presents squab brains and talons.
4
Better Dining Through Science Beets Masaharu Morimoto v. Homaro Cantu In an upset, the molecular gastronomists take the battle.
5
Trout in the Machine Trout Bobby Flay v. Hiroyuki Sakai The infamous trout ice cream
6
Edible Art Asparagus Masaharu Morimoto v. Michael Symon Morimoto's "stained glass" sushi
7
I Fought the Clock and the Clock Won Scallops Masaharu Morimoto v. Roberto Donna Donna fails to complete his five dishes.
8
The Wheel's on Fire Parmigiano Reggiano Mario Batali v. Andrew Carmellini Batali's Parmesan bowl filled with flaming grappa
9
Smokin' Hot Chiles Masaharu Morimoto v. Tim Love Morimoto struggles with an unfamiliar ingredient: a jalapeño chile.
10
Size Matters Elk Bobby Flay v. Kent and Kevin Rathbun The chefs battle each other and the largest secret ingredient ever.
Production details[edit]
Kitchen Stadium[edit]
Located at the Chelsea Market in New York City, Iron Chef America's version of Kitchen Stadium has a more modern appearance than the one from Iron Chef. Much of the equipment in the kitchen is top-of-the line; appliances include six burner stove tops, an infrared grill, blast chillers, convection ovens, deep fryers, cutting boards, a plethora of small electrical appliances like blenders and food processors, as well as pantry stations. Both kitchens in Kitchen Stadium are set up with the same appliances, and each pantry station has the same food items including expensive items like saffron. Challengers may also sometimes bring their own equipment to their sections; most notably, postmodern chef Homaro Cantu brought a Class 4 Laser, liquid nitrogen, and an inkjet printer with edible inks and paper for his signature dishes.[14] One of the most infamous appliances in the kitchen is the ice cream machine (dubbed by the commentators as the Ice Cream Machine of Doom), which is often used to create unusual and abstract flavors of ice cream when chefs attempt to make a dessert course with the theme ingredient.[15]
The commentator's station has Alton Brown standing in front of two large monitors feeding him camera angles from both sides of Kitchen Stadium. To stay informed, he also keeps his laptop open to reference an extensive food database and, in later seasons, an iPad to look up ingredients on the fly. An earbud allows him to be fed information from the culinary producer, who in turn is fed information from two culinary spotters on the floor.[16] The station is much closer to and on the same level as the cooking stations, allowing Alton Brown to converse with the competitors and ask brief questions. Alton Brown has made frequent comments about Kitchen Stadium being "an orbiting space station" or "an underwater facility." Brown has also called Kitchen Stadium "Kitchen Stadium Number One, Two, and so on until number seven as of Battle Eggs.
There is a small section in the back of the stadium reserved for the studio audience, which is mostly composed of guests of the chefs. During the first two seasons, the audience is almost never mentioned or shown on camera unless there is a special guest in the audience. Starting with season 3, the show again takes a cue from its predecessor and gives a little more attention to the audience, particularly when someone close to the challenger or special guests are present. The audience is also now sometimes heard applauding the chefs, although they are ignored by cameras.
Despite Kitchen Stadium America's state-of-the-art appearance, problems arose during the first season. In her battle against Mario Batali, Chef Anita Lo had trouble getting her burners hot enough to cook her food. At one point, one of Lo's assistants took a pot over to Mario Batali's side of the kitchen to use his stove, to which Batali happily agreed.[17] In several battles contestants have experienced technical problems with the ice cream machine. Though there have not been serious injuries in Kitchen Stadium America, several contestants have suffered minor cuts from knife slips.
In the Behind the Scenes: Iron Chef America special, Iron Chef Hiroyuki Sakai voices his distaste for the modern look of the American Kitchen Stadium. Sakai referred to the kitchen as "cold."
Subtitles and dubbing[edit]
Morimoto speaks English with a thick Japanese accent, and he sometimes speaks in Japanese when describing his dishes. Consequently, his voice is at times dubbed by Joe Cipriano. Cipriano, a veteran TV announcer and Los Angeles radio personality, also provided the voice for Hiroyuki Sakai in Battle of the Masters. When his voice is not dubbed, subtitles may be provided to help viewers understand what Morimoto is saying. In the episode Battle Eggs, Takashi Yagihashi had subtitles when the screen showed whom he challenged (Michael Symon).
Companion shows[edit]
Countdown[edit]
Iron Chef America Countdown premiered in 2012. Each half-hour episode features a countdown of five moments on a theme from the television series. The show uses clips from Iron Chef America, as well as commentary from people who participated in the featured moments.[18]
The Next Iron Chef[edit]
Main article: The Next Iron Chef
In 2007, a competition was held to determine who among eight chefs would become the next Iron Chef. The show ran for six episodes, and followed the contestants through a series of eight culinary challenges taking place in the United States, France, and Germany. Contestants were eliminated by a panel of judges at the end of each episode, until the final two chefs returned to the United States to compete in Kitchen Stadium. The final battle featured swordfish as the secret ingredient, and was judged by Iron Chefs Flay, Cora, and Morimoto. Chef Michael Symon was declared the winner of the competition and subsequently joined Iron Chef America.[19]
A second season of The Next Iron Chef pitted ten chefs against one another for the title of Iron Chef beginning in October 2009. This season ran for eight episodes, during which the contestants competed in culinary challenges held in the United States and Japan. Contestants were eliminated by a panel of judges at the end of each episode until the finale, in which chefs Jehangir Mehta and Jose Garces returned to the United States to compete in Kitchen Stadium. The final battle featured various racks and ribs (pork, buffalo, and beef) as the secret ingredient, and was judged by the panel along with Iron Chefs Flay, Morimoto, and Symon. Chef Jose Garces was declared the winner of the competition, and joined Iron Chef America as its newest Iron Chef. Garces made his debut as an Iron Chef on January 17, 2010 against Seattle chefs Rachel Yang and Seif Chirchi in Battle Hawaiian Moi, with Iron Chef Garces emerging victorious. Jose Garces went on to receive the first perfect score ever in Season 9 (see List of Episodes).
Food Network launched its third season of The Next Iron Chef in October 2010. Competition took place in Los Angeles, before moving to Las Vegas. The final battle took place in Kitchen Stadium between Chefs Marco Canora and Marc Forgione, with traditional Thanksgiving proteins, such as turkey, lobster and venison as the secret ingredient. Chef Marc Forgione was declared the winner of the third season of "The Next Iron Chef" on November 21, 2010. His first battle took place on November 28, 2010, against Washington, D.C.-based Chef RJ Cooper.
In October 2011, a fourth season of The Next Iron Chef premiered featuring super chefs like Alex Guarnaschelli, Anne Burrell, Robert Irvine, among others. The December 18 battle in Kitchen Stadium featured Geoffrey Zakarian and Elizabeth Falkner. Zakarian prevailed and was named the winner. His first battle aired on December 25, 2011 during which he emerged victorious, being the second chef ever to receive a perfect overall score of 60 on Iron Chef America.
The fifth season of The Next Iron Chef in November 2012 featured 8 chefs who had previously competed on the show, plus 2 newcomers. In the final battle, Alex Guarnaschelli defeated Amanda Freitag, becoming the second female Iron Chef, as well as the first female to win the competition. She made her debut as an Iron Chef on December 30, 2012 against Judy Joo from Iron Chef UK. Iron Chef Joo previously judged season 4 of The Next Iron Chef, in which Guarnaschelli had competed and lost. Iron Chef Guarnaschelli was ultimately declared the winner.
Video game[edit]
Main article: Iron Chef America: Supreme Cuisine
Cover for the Wii version of Iron Chef America: Supreme Cuisine
An Iron Chef America video game, titled Iron Chef America: Supreme Cuisine, was developed for the Wii and Nintendo DS by Black Lantern Studios and published by Destineer. Both versions were released on November 6, 2008, having been delayed from the original release date of September 23, 2008.
The game features "a series of fast-paced and intense culinary challenges" and includes the voice acting and likeness of The Chairman (Mark Dacascos), commentator Alton Brown and Iron Chefs Mario Batali, Masaharu Morimoto and Cat Cora, who players can either play or compete against.[20][21] The Wii version of the game has received mediocre to slightly unfavorable reviews, with an average score of 42% determined by critical score aggregator Metacritic.[22] The DS version of the game has received overall better scores, with median review score of 62%.[23]
See also[edit]
List of Iron Chef America episodes
Food Network
Cooking Channel
References[edit]
Notes
Jump up ^ http://blog.foodnetwork.com/fn-dish/2017/07/iron-chef-showdown/
Jump up ^ Alton Brown [@altonbrown] (25 July 2017). "Introducing... #IronChefShowdown on @foodnetwork" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
Jump up ^ http://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/Iron-Chefs-Return-To-Legendary-Kitchen-Stadium-For-Reimagined-Take-On-Fan-Favorite-Franchise-In-Iron-Chef-Showdown-1003536466
Jump up ^ Chen, Joanne (2007-11-21). "Michael Symon back in action: The Lola chef wins his first Iron Chef competition against Ricky Moore". Fortune Small Business. CNN Money. Retrieved 2007-11-22.
Jump up ^ Salkin, Allen (July 29, 2010). "Batali's Humble Dream - Behind the Apron". Retrieved 30 October 2010.
Jump up ^ "Mario Batali on 'Sadistic' TV and Martha Stewart on Raising Chickens", The Atlantic, May 25, 2012 Kummer, Corby (May 25, 2013). "Mario Batali on 'Sadistic' TV and Martha Stewart on Raising Chickens". Retrieved 7 June 2013.
Jump up ^ http://blog.foodnetwork.com/fn-dish/2017/07/iron-chef-showdown/
Jump up ^ Alton Brown [@altonbrown] (25 July 2017). "Introducing... #IronChefShowdown on @foodnetwork" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
Jump up ^ Fashingbauer Cooper, Gael; Dehnart, Andy (2005-08-30). "'Iron Chef' ingredients aren't so secret". MSNBC. Retrieved 2007-11-19.
Jump up ^ Podell, Corey (2007-09-13). "LAist Interview: Iron Chef America's Chairman, Mark Dacascos". Laist.com. Archived from the original on 2011-08-07. Retrieved 2010-09-23.
Jump up ^ "Jacki Garfinkel, Iron Chef America: Secrets of Kitchen Stadium" mediavillage.com Archived April 15, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
^ Jump up to: a b Kelly, Peter; Tedd Mann (2007-05-28). "Diary of an Iron Chef: How Peter Kelly beat celebrity chef Bobby Flay at his own game, the grill". MSNBC. Retrieved 2007-11-19.
Jump up ^ Lynch, Rene (2009-11-04). "Michelle Obama welcomes 'Iron Chef America' | Daily Dish". Latimesblogs.latimes.com. Retrieved 2010-09-23.
Jump up ^ "Masaharu Morimoto vs Homaro Cantu". Iron Chef America. Season 3. Episode 24.
Jump up ^ Behind the Scenes: Iron Chef America, Food Network Special, hosted by Alton Brown
Jump up ^ Alton Brown on Being a Vessel, Next Iron Chef, and His Faith Archived 2012-05-13 at the Wayback Machine. Eater.com. 2010-09-28. Retrieved 2013-09-13
Jump up ^ "Mario Batali vs Anita Lo". Iron Chef America. Season 1. Episode 9.
Jump up ^ "Iron Chef America Countdown". Retrieved 28 November 2016.
Jump up ^ "Attain Greatness". The Next Iron Chef. Season 1. Episode 6. 2007-11-11.
Jump up ^ Iron Chef America: Supreme Cuisine officially cooked up for Wii, DS, Joystiq. Retrieved March 10, 2008.
Jump up ^ IGN: Alton Brown and Iron Chef Cat Cora Join Destineer's Iron Chef America: Supreme Cuisine Video Game, IGN. Retrieved August 30, 2008.
Jump up ^ "Iron Chef America: Supreme Cuisine for Wii Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic.com. 2008-11-25. Retrieved 2010-09-23.
Jump up ^ "Iron Chef America: Supreme Cuisine for DS Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic.com. 2008-11-18. Retrieved 2010-09-23.
External links[edit]
Official website
Iron Chef America on IMDb
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Karen Walker (Will & Grace)
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For other people named Karen Walker, see Karen Walker (disambiguation).
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Karen Walker
Will & Grace character
First appearance
"Pilot"
(episode 1.01)
Created by
Max Mutchnick
Portrayed by
Megan Mullally
Information
Nickname(s)
Cruella (by Will)
Kare, Miss Karen, Kare Bear, Kiki, Zany Delaney
Aliases
Shu-Shu Fontana
Anastasia Beaverhausen
Pilar Palabundar
Sister Frances Beaverhausen
Gender
Female
Occupation
Current
Businesswoman
Personal assistant to Grace Adler
Socialite
Former
Personal assistant to Jack McFarland
(at Out TV; fired)
Title
Chairman, CEO, and Board Member
(Walker, Inc.)
Family
Mr. Delaney
(father; deceased)
Lois Whitley
(mother)
Virginia "Ginny" Delaney
(sister)
Spouse(s)
Mr. St. Croix
(ex-husband)
Dick Popeil
(ex-husband)
Stanley Walker
(husband; deceased then divorced)
Lyle Finster
(ex-husband; invalid)
Children
Mason Walker
(stepson, via Stanley)
Olivia Walker
(stepdaughter, via Stanley)
Lorraine Finster
(former stepdaughter, via Lyle)
Relatives
Lois Whitley
(mother)
Sylvia Walker
(mother-in-law, via Stanley)
Kimmie Walker
(sister-in-law, via Stanley)
Jonny Walker
(brother-in-law, via Stanley)
Barry
(cousin)
Gina
(cousin)
Sumner Davis
(nephew)
Virginia "Ginny" Delaney
(sister)
Karen Walker (née Delaney; previously St. Croix, Popeil, and Finster) is a fictional character on the American television sitcom Will & Grace, portrayed by Megan Mullally.
Although Karen was originally conceived as a supporting character role for Will & Grace, her escapades became a more prominent part of the show based on viewer reaction. She was a multi-milionairess thanks to her marriage to Stan Walker (an unseen character) until it was discovered that all of his money was loaned after their divorce in the series finale. At the end of the series she regains this status, however.
Karen has been described by Grace Adler (Debra Messing) as "a spoiled, shrill, gold-digging socialite who would sooner chew off her own foot than do an honest day's work." She is also a promiscuous borderline alcoholic/drug addict with an often tenuous grip on reality and very few morals. She is good friends with Will Truman’s Eric McCormack) equally narcissistic best friend Jack McFarland (Sean Hayes). After Mullally spoke her lines in her normal speaking voice in the pilot, she increased her delivery in pitch in subsequent episodes until her distinct nasal voice became one of the character's trademarks.
In 2010, Karen Walker was ranked #23 on the TV Guide Network special, 25 Greatest TV Characters of All Time.[1]
Contents
[hide]
1 Fictional character history
1.1 Early years
2 Overview
2.1 Connection to other characters
2.2 Karen's home life
3 Other relationships
3.1 Rosario
3.2 Gin
3.3 Lois Whitley
3.4 Other rivals
4 Personality
5 Sexuality and gender
6 After Will & Grace
6.1 Karen: The Musical
7 References
Fictional character history[edit]
Early years[edit]
Karen Delaney was born on January 16, 1959 (which is revealed in the show's season 8). Karen had a difficult childhood, thanks in part to her unstable relationship with her mother, Lois Whitley (played by Suzanne Pleshette), a con artist who incorporated her young daughter into her schemes. Karen has made many references in the show to her education and her maiden name, Delaney, which suggest she is of Irish-American background.
Although she tries to keep her age secret, Jack revealed that she was 42 in 2001, meaning she was born in January 1959. She has been married four times — her first husband's surname was St. Croix, her second husband was named Popeil (a reference to the American culinary businessman/entrepreneur Ron Popeil), her third was Stan Walker (married since 1995), and she was married for 20 minutes to Lyle Finster (John Cleese) in May 2004. As of the end of the series, she is still married to Stanley (see below), who has two children of his own, Olivia and Mason. She has intimated an illicit relationship with Ronald Reagan. Karen also goes under the alias "Anastasia Beaverhausen" ("Anastasia as in Russian royalty, Beaverhausen as in ... where the beaver lives") and also once used the alias Pilar Palabundar to "beat up businessmen for cash in Chinatown." Other alias was Lupita, used when she had an affair with a hotel janitor while trying to pass as a maid using Rosario's uniform. Her real name may not, in fact, be Karen, as she changes her name from time to time to "throw off the Feds." Her mother refers to her as "Kiki", which was her childhood nickname. She has made more than one reference to attending Sarah Lawrence College. She is noted also for her shrill, squeaky voice; in one episode in the third season, Karen inhales helium from a balloon, only for the gas to have absolutely no effect on her voice. She is also noted for her addiction to prescription drugs and alcohol.
Karen seems to have had a background in acting (including a performance in a soft core adult film as a naughty maid); however she vowed never to act again after her part as a bank teller in the TV show Mama's Family was cut. (Her one line was: "Would you like that in fives, tens, or fifteens?" said with a Southern accent). She has also spoken of a two-episode character arc in Dynasty.
Karen tends to have trouble separating stories she has read, seen, or heard about with her actual life. On one occasion she explains that she loves family and then recites the story of Heidi, claiming it as her own. Another situation involves Karen's fear of elevators. She and Jack are walking up the stairs of a skyscraper because she refuses to use the elevator. Jack asks her why she's afraid of elevators, and she recounts the opening scene of the movie Speed. She has also described the events of Norma Rae and To Sir, with Love as her own life experiences.
Overview[edit]
Connection to other characters[edit]
To entertain herself, Karen takes a job as personal assistant to interior designer Grace Adler. Though she rarely accomplishes any work, she keeps the job because it gets her "away from Stan and the kids", as she once told an intern. Karen actually quits Grace Adler Designs twice. First, when Grace found Karen in a dominatrix film and Karen was horribly embarrassed, and second, when Karen does a design job all on her own and Grace takes credit for it. In the first instance, Karen returned to the company at the end of the episode because Grace gave her 49 copies of the film (Grace keeps one—totaling 50) so "no one would have to see the tape again." The second time, Karen returned in the next episode. She becomes Jack's assistant at "Out TV", but she gets fired because she and Jack couldn't keep a professional relationship, and she then returned to Grace like "nothing ever happened", even though she remarks, "I missed you".
Despite her incompetence, Grace never fires her because of the business benefits from Karen's social contacts; Karen also pays for Grace's health insurance and Christmas bonus. For a long time, Karen never cashed any of the paychecks she was given because, being rich, she didn't need to; also, Karen and Grace had made a deal that, in exchange for not cashing the checks, Karen was not required to actually do any work. Instead, she kept them in a shoebox on her desk because she thought they were "pretty little blue pieces of paper." In one episode, when Stan cuts down on her extravagant spending habits, she cashes all her paychecks at once, nearly bankrupting Grace. Karen gives the money back to Grace in the end.
Karen and Grace are very close friends, despite Karen's constant criticisms and insults regardinger Grace's clothing choices and personal life (often dismissing Grace's wardrobe with the comment "Honey, what is this? What's going on here?"). Karen and Grace's best friend Will Truman initially dislike each other, but they gradually become friends as well. Through Grace, she also meets Jack McFarland, and they become inseparable best friends.
Karen's home life[edit]
For the first few seasons of the show, Karen lives with husband Stan Walker. Karen met Stan Walker in 1985, brushing off three simultaneous relationships (with Martina Navratilova, Sultan Habibi Shoshani Padush Al-Kabir, and a man named Clayton) to be with him, only to learn that Stan was married. After going through two other marriages, she finally got together with Stan 10 years later. At some point before this, she also agreed to appear in the fetishistic porn film Next to Godliness, a dominatrix flick. Stan is an obese man who was credited with keeping Taco Bell and Pizza Hut in business, and who has worn a toupee since his teens.
Stan was a mostly unseen character during the show's run, despite being mentioned in many episodes. His hands and legs were shown in the episode "New Will City" but his face never was shown. His two children, Mason (known to Karen as "the fat one") and Olivia ("the girl"), by Stan's previous wife were often left in the incompetent care of Karen.
In the fourth season, Stan is jailed for tax evasion and tells Karen to date other men. She cannot bring herself to do so until she meets rich bachelor Lionel Banks (Rip Torn), but just as their affair begins, Stan is released from jail. However, after Karen catches Stan with his mistress Lorraine Finster (Minnie Driver)—a cafeteria worker at the prison—the couple separate, and Karen moves into the Palace hotel. After beginning divorce proceedings at the end of the fifth season, Stan dies suddenly. Despite cruelly mocking him for years, Karen is genuinely saddened by his death.
During season six, Karen pursues romantic liaisons and eventually marries Lyle Finster (John Cleese), Lorraine's father. However, after 20 minutes of marriage, she asks for a divorce upon realizing that Lyle puts his own needs ahead of hers.
Karen becomes the head of Walker, Inc., upon Stan's death. However, at the end of season seven, it is revealed that Stan faked his death and had actually been in hiding. Karen begins dating Malcolm (Alec Baldwin), a government agent who had helped Stan go underground. However, she ultimately reconciles with Stan, and Malcolm leaves on a government mission to Sri Lanka. Later in the eighth season, however, Karen and Stan experience significant marital difficulties. They finally choose to divorce, only for Karen to learn—in season eight's finale—that his money is borrowed and that, as a result, she is now broke.
Karen then pressures Jack into a relationship with Beverley Leslie (played by Leslie Jordan), who is wealthy enough to support Jack—and in turn keep Karen in the extravagant lifestyle to which she is accustomed. Though he is not attracted to Beverley, Jack goes ahead with the scheme because Karen had financially supported him for the whole of their relationship. Karen realizes that she is doing to Jack what her mother did to her, and tells him that she cares more about his happiness than the money. Beverley, who had been in the bathroom, then comes out to an empty bedroom, looks for Jack on the outside balcony and, being 4'11 and 100 lbs., is swept to his death by a gust of wind. Beverley had left his over $100 million estate to Jack. Jack happily became the provider in his relationship with Karen, which has otherwise not changed. The series finale shows that—until at least 2028—Karen, Jack, and Rosario share an extravagant penthouse apartment together, and, thanks to plastic surgery, Karen appears to have not aged a day.
When the series was revived in 2017, however, the events of the finale were written off as one of Karen's alcohol-induced hallucinations. In this continuity, Karen is still married to Stan and still independently wealthy, and has become of a member of First Lady Melania Trump's inner circle.[2]
Other relationships[edit]
Rosario[edit]
Karen is very close to her maid Rosario Salazar (played by Shelley Morrison), whom she met and hired in 1985. Although the duo often bicker and fight, it is only part of the bond they share. In the beginning of the series, it seems that Rosario didn't speak much English, and Karen has a hard time communicating with her. Karen's way of giving Rosario orders is to add the letter "o" to the end of every word she says (e.g., "Enougho with the April Fresho. *hangs up the phone* Right now she's calling me a bitcho"). In another example of miscommunication, Karen ends phone calls with Rosario by saying "hola", which means "hello" in Spanish and not "goodbye". When Rosario is first seen on-camera at the end of the first season, it is revealed that she speaks English fluently and that Karen is merely being patronizing. In a later season, we see Karen forced to live in an apartment block she owns in Spanish Harlem as punishment for failing to bring the building to code. She is seen in this episode screeching at a child in the street in fluent SpanIn thefinal episode of the first season, Karen arranges for Rosario to marry Jack so she can get a Green Card.
Karen and Rosario have a love-hate relationship: They have frequent, volatile arguments that end with them embracing each other and emotionally declaring their affection for each other. Rosario affectionately calls Karen "mami" from time to time, when they're not trading insults. The only low points occur when Karen loses Rosario in a bet to her nemesis Beverley Leslie and when Karen fires Rosario after discovering she had hidden the truth about Stan being alive. In "Saving Grace, Again (2)" it is suggested that Karen uses Rosario as a horse or at least treats her like one because she asks Jack if "winter white is a good color for Rosario's saddlebag" and in "Cheatin' Trouble Blues", after climbing up numerous flights of stairs, said, "Well, if I'd known we were gonna do all this walking, I would've saddled up Rosario, like when we go to Greece!"
In the 2017 revived series, Rosario dies of a heart attack. Karen keeps up an uncaring facade for days afterward, even refusing to go to her funeral. However, she does bid Rosario a quietly emotional goodbye when she is alone with the casket, and tells her she was her best friend.
Gin[edit]
Karen has a sister named Gin, played by Bernadette Peters.[3][4] According to Gin, Karen rigged a floorboard during a game of Twister so she would fall through, hurt herself, and end her career in dance. Gin always mentions how one of her legs is now shorter than the other due to the incident. Later, Gin admits she rigged the floorboard as a cry for attention.[5]
Lois Whitley[edit]
This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
Lois, played by Suzanne Pleshette, is Karen's mother who appears in the episode "Someone Old, Someplace New". Jack is making a movie called The Mystery of Karen Walker and while making the movie he meets Lois. At the end of the episode Karen and Lois see each other for the first time in many years. Karen says "I told you I never wanted to see you again." It is later revealed that Lois made a living as a con artist during Karen's childhood and adolescence, implicating Karen in many of her schemes. As a result of this unconventional upbringing, Karen decided to distance herself from her mother, presumably in an attempt to lead a more stable life. However, the fruit does not fall far from the tree, as Karen's long, colorful history of multiple marriages and desire to "throw the feds off" proves. They forgive each other in the next episode, "Something Borrowed, Someone's Due", but Lois wants to do one last job: conning an elderly shut-in out of his fortune. Karen would appear to be a down-on-her-luck daughter who is so "slow" that she was a cheerleader who never stopped clapping. While doing this Karen makes Lois sign a paper saying she will never pull another con with Karen again, and Karen notarizes it; she reveals that she is a legal notary from a Chicago job they once pulled. The job fails when the old man's daughter gets a restraining order on Lois; then Lois and Karen make amends.
Other rivals[edit]
Karen's arch rivals include, but are not limited to, Beverley Leslie (played by Leslie Jordan), Lorraine Finster (played by Minnie Driver), Anita Bryant, Candice Bergen (who is also Karen's best friend, referring to running into her at a restaurant as "a nightmare-slash-delightful"), and Marlo Thomas (Karen hates her, but likes her husband, Phil Donahue). Further enemies include Scott Woolley (played by Jeff Goldblum), whom she jilted in high school; Candace Pruitt (whom Karen refers to as "Candy" Pruitt; played by Christine Ebersole), who once said that Karen's voice sounded "like someone strangling an old macaw"; and Helena Barnes (played by Joan Collins), a famous interior designer. Karen often openly insults or ridicules her enemies, while simultaneously thinking of them as her friends. Karen has a tendency to stumble upon becoming aware of her physical proximity to certain rivals. The most notable occurrence of this physical reaction occurs during her encounters with Beverley Leslie.
Personality[edit]
With other staff and help, Karen is deliberately patronizing, referring to them solely by their title both in conversation and to their face: "Driver", "Butler", "Private Detective", "Pharmacist", "Back-Up Pharmacist", et cetera, and even refers to Will as "Lawyer" on occasion. She does this even when they are doing other jobs ("Cook sometimes cleans, Cleaner sometimes cooks, Driver sometimes provides an alibi ..."). This rude tone is not limited to her employees, as she looks down on or openly mocks most people she meets, even her friends. Karen is often cruel to her staff at home, training them to run when she enters a room. Other times she berates them, but somehow this comes across as an act of affection.
Sometimes Karen unintentionally reveals to her friends a softer side. In one such incident, Karen's husband has an apparent heart attack. Karen discovers that her friends have placed a bet to see who can get her to cry first, so she punishes each of them by leading them on to think she might break down in their presence. In the end, it is revealed that it was not a heart attack but rather acute angina. She then has an emotional breakdown over the incident, during which Grace stumbles in and consoles her. Another episode sees Karen and Jack in her mansion with her refusing to let him enter 'the forbidden room'. When Jack finally gains access he discovers it is a nursery which Karen had prepared during a pregnancy scare in an earlier season. Although she agrees to change the room into a liquor storage room, she quickly changes her mind and the audience sees her stony facade crumble.
In one episode, Jack accidentally gives away her favorite shoes to charity, and she rushes to buy them back, only to find that a poor woman is about to buy them. Karen gives the woman $500 for the shoes, and admonishes Jack not to tell anyone.
Sexuality and gender[edit]
Karen frequently implies that she's attracted to other women, and has hinted that she has slept with members of the same gender.[6] She makes frequent references to Grace being secretly attracted to her, and vice versa. Also, she has made several remarks suggesting that she may be transgender: for example, when Karen and Jack visit a bowling alley, Karen says, "When I was a boy I worked in a supermarket".
After Will & Grace[edit]
Walker's persona has appeared in advertisements for The Megan Mullally Show, which debuted in September 2006 and which was canceled in January 2007. In one, Karen asks Megan to take her along. In another, Karen tries to pass for Megan at a meeting with studio executives until she is caught by Mullally and they begin to physically struggle with each other.
Mullally once again donned a Walker persona in an episode of The Megan Mullally Show which featured Andy Dick.
In late September 2016, just over a decade after the Will & Grace series finale had first aired, Mullally appeared in a nearly 10-minute Will & Grace webisode as Karen, alongside Eric McCormack (Will), Debra Messing (Grace), Sean Hayes (Jack), and Shelley Morrison (Rosario). In the webisode, Karen announces that she is going to vote for Donald Trump in the presidential election, much to the chagrin of the other characters.
Karen: The Musical[edit]
In 2009, Mullally announced that she was developing a Broadway musical entitled Karen: The Musical, which was to be the "return of Karen Walker".[7] However, when the project was brought up during a 2013 interview, Mullally revealed that it had been abandoned after she lost the rights to the Karen Walker character.[8]
References[edit]
Jump up ^ "25 Greatest TV Characters of All Time". September 19, 2010. TV Guide Network. Missing or empty |series= (help); |access-date= requires |url= (help)
Jump up ^ Framke, Caroline (September 28, 2017). "Will & Grace, despite what NBC says, isn't the same show that ended 11 years ago. Good". vox.com. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
Jump up ^ "Bernadette Peters & Josh Lucas To Appear on 'Will & Grace'". Starpulse.com. 2006-04-06. Retrieved 2012-02-21.
Jump up ^ Durfee, Rob. "rob's Will & Grace page - Whatever Happened to Baby Gin?". Archived from the original on 3 October 2012. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
Jump up ^ "Whatever Happened to Baby Gin?". Archived from the original on 1 February 2011. Retrieved 3 October 2012. GINNY: That's right. I loosened that floorboard so you'd fall through. I just got so caught up in the game, I forgot.
Jump up ^ Warn, Sarah (2003-06-07). "Karen Walker and the Bisexual Straight Woman | TV Show Recaps, Celebrity Interviews & News About & For Gay, Lesbian & Bisexual Women". AfterEllen.com. Retrieved 2012-02-21.
Jump up ^ "The Return of Karen Walker in KAREN: THE MUSICAL, MetroSource's Q&A with Megan Mullally". Broadwayworld.com. Retrieved 2012-02-21.
Jump up ^ Byrnes, Holly (January 1, 2013). "The Big Ask with Megan Mullally". news.com.au. News Limited. Retrieved 2014-05-11.
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Will & Grace
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Characters
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Episodes
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"Gypsies, Tramps and Weed"
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