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Peter Fenzel and Matt Wrather overthink series 16 of The Great British Bake Off, a reality competition show that takes place in a comforting world swaddled in gingham, where the stakes are as low as a soggy bottom. With one contestant so dominant, this year’s competition was nearly devoid of suspense; and the presence of a Ukrainian baker nearly forced the show to confront a world with a tragedies many times worse than the collapse of a cake.

They puzzle out how the show tries to make meaning through its casting and through the relationship between the hosts and the judges, and try to imagine what the show must mean to its intended (British) audience, playing on both nostalgia for a simpler time of village fêtes and the contemporary diversity of modern Britain. In the end, everyone can agree: Alison Hammond has made the show’s flavor’s pop.

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Episode 906: Hero Flavour originally appeared on Overthinking It, the site subjecting the popular culture to a level of scrutiny it probably doesn't deserve. [Latest Posts | Podcast (iTunes Link)]