My husband and I are huge fans of Robert Irvine. He's knowledgeable, fun, respectful, and passionate. The live show, however, was largely uninspired.
First, no one in the audience could see Robert's cooking tabletop because it was sitting on a white tablecloth, which was then projected onto a super brightly lit white tablecloth. :( The overhead projected display was off in that the timer was mostly cut off on the bottom (they fixed this mid-way through). The overhead projected display would hang up every now and then, so it was not comfortable to watch. "Chad"s voice was not always easy to understand. Did no one check lighting, projection, and sound before the show began?
Second, Robert was the only one that wore a microphone. The majority of the show included members of the audience and no one could hear the conversations between Robert and the audience members helping him. It was really frustrating.
Third, the challenges were not that challenging. Making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches hanging upside down is cute and nice for the kids, but it's not something I would pay over $65 per ticket to see. Also, there was no regard for the timer or actually meeting the challenge. If you're going to have a timed activity, it would be nice if that was taken at least somewhat seriously. I know Robert's history has been "challenge" based, but we all know he hasn't lost his edge and there is more to him than that.
My husband and I were hoping for more instruction and conversation from Robert himself. Why did he chose the ingredients he did, how was he cooking them and why, what are good knife techniques, etc.? We both felt that a lot more of those details could be integrated while still involving members of the audience and making the whole experience fun.
Last, I think each of the audience members has "Marc Summers" emblazoned on their brain. While we can all appreciate Marc's contributions to the production, is it really necessary to have "Chad" say his name a dozen times during the show?