A lot of you seem pretty happy that
Robert Irvine is returning to Dinner: Impossible. But did you know it was the plan to have Robert return all along? That's what replacement host Michael Symon indicates in a new
interview:
"Right from the get-go, we knew Robert was probably going to come back and do the show - but we couldn't say that. There was a lot going on with [Irvine] that he needed to clear up. They [Food Network] told me, 'You're the only one who can do it, keep up that level," says Symon. Ughhhh... what? You accepted to host a show, knowing that the disgraced original host would still inevitably return just because they said you "were the only one" to keep the show going? That sounds like a pretty flimsy reason. I have a hard time believing someone would be willing to take over a popular show, knowing he would only be on for a short time before the original host made his triumphant return.
That would be like Rosie O'Donnell agreeing to come on The View, knowing from the get-go that Star Jones would be coming back in a few months after things cleared up. That would be like Sammy Hagar agreeing to front Van Halen, knowing that David Lee Roth was slated return after 10 concerts.
That would be like Barack Obama taking the oath of office with the condition that George W. Bush was somehow going to be reinstated. unelected, after only one term.
If Food Network (or Marc Summers' production company behind DI) truly intended on bringing Robert back, they could have just ran reruns for a while until things died down. I don't think they'd take the extra effort to get a new host and make a statement to the media about Robert's dismissal if they knew Robert would just be coming right back.
"We didn't 'lose' [the show]. I knew going in that there was a 95 percent chance that he'd be coming back. We really want to keep this brand alive. So we came in, rocked out the 10 shows, and moved on," added Symon. Again, I don't think it would have been that hard to "keep the brand alive," even without new episodes. It's not like Food Network
EVER stopped airing the Robert Irvine eps. In fact, they almost always aired back-to-back with the new Symon episodes, probably as an attempt to gauge which episodes scored higher ratings.
Symon doesn't seem that upset about it, though. He apparently has other things in the works, and speaks highly of Food Network and its treatment of Robert:"Food Network has been so good with me, I have no doubts about their words. And the way they've dealt with Robert's situation says a ton about the network, and the people who run it. He got into some hot water, they gave him some time clear it up, and didn't hang him out to dry. They've always treated me the same way."Labels: food network, Michael Symon, Robert Irvine
