I’ve been worrying about Blythe Beck. Even though I’ve never met the sassy executive chef of Central 214 at Hotel Palomar, I want her new show on Oxygen to be a hit. I want everything that comes out of Dallas, and especially East Dallas, to be a hit. But I’m rooting for Beck especially because she’s not your typical TV star. She’s short. She’s round. She has a voice like a buzz saw. A few weeks ago, I watched a promo for her show, "The Naughty Chef," in which she demonstrates a creamed corn recipe while flirting with one of the waiters from her restaurant. I was afraid the show would be as boring as that video.
But last night I got around to watching a 30-minute teaser for the show, which aired on Oxygen Monday night. And I’m not worried any more. It’s not another recipe show. It’s a show about Central 214. The characters are Beck’s employees and customers, including annoyingly chic Dallas society women. But Beck is the star, and she is a hoot, dishing up zingers and sarcasm like so many fried oysters. Almost everything that comes out of her mouth is hilarity. In one scene, she points to a plate that’s decorated with swirls of chocolate: "What is that?" she says. "Why does it look like 1982 called and wants its design back?"
The pre-episode is a bit of a cliffhanger. Beck informs the staff that they’ve been reviewed, and there are shots of her reading the review, but the show ends without telling us the news. But that’s OK, because you can read it here. It’s not very nice. I hope the show gets better reviews because the boy-band-loving Beck is genuine and funny. And along with "Cheaters" and some episodes of "the First 48," it gives us a reason to point at the TV and say, "Hey, that’s my ‘hood!"
