September
7 "Kitchen Nightmares": Gordon to the Rescue

Gordon Ramsay's impressive new show "Kitchen Nightmares" launches by cleaning up the operations in a stereotypical Long Island Italian eatery. (While dramatic and humorous, it fits into the "reality" category so it is not being reviewed by the Season pass crew. That's a shame; this is fabulous television).

While the name on the building belongs to the loudmouth in the expensive yet tacky suits, the owner is the quiet sister who figures she'll be closing the joint soon if baby bro doesn't stop raiding the till. He, Peter, who treats his duties as host like some union no-show job.

Ramsay, with the help of the world's fastest heavy equipment installers, redoes the kitchen, the menu and the mindset almost overnight.

It is gripping storytelling with demonstrative characters - the expressions of the head chef are priceless; the directing and editing service the story so well, "Nightmares" immediately shoots to the upper reaches in the ranking of this season's new shows.

The restaurant that gets the redo, Peter's Italian Restaurant in Babylon, N.Y., apparently used to be called Peter's Pasta House, but nearly any mention or review of the eatery - and its mediocre food - seems to have been erased from the Internet save for this one numerical rating.

— Phil Gallo