2/5 Iron Chef USA is entirely too ... American
  by calvinnme (Fredericksburg, Va)
The original Iron Chef was a great thing to behold, both because of the competition and the intertwining of Japanese culture. In the original "Iron Chef" two chefs - usually Japanese - would compete using the main ingredient specified by the eccentric gourmet authority Chairman Kaga. Kaga was a warlord-like character that had specially constructed a cooking arena called "Kitchen Stadium" in his castle where visiting chefs would compete against his Gourmet Academy, led by his several master Iron Chefs. Chairman Kaga himself was a showpiece in flamboyant, heavily decorated coats and jackets. The show had a campy charm that evoked memories of the English-dubbed kung fu movies of the 1970s.

Iron Chef USA is entirely too....American. In typical us-versus-them fashion (Note- everyone who is not "me" is "them") competitors will stoop to anything. The judges seem more like competitors in "The Hollywood Squares" game show of yesteryear than the dignified characters of the original Iron Chef. The Japanese judges would do anything to keep the competitors from losing face in the original, and it was quite comical to see them wrinkle up their faces and try to find something to complement about dishes they obviously found hard to swallow. Making fun of the dishes seems to be the point for the judges in the U.S. version.

In short, skip this entry and hold out for the original "Iron Chef" to come out on DVD some day. It was truly a unique and fun show.

3/5 I came to mock
  by Steven Hellerstedt
But IRON CHEF USA isn't all that bad. I'm a big fan of the Japanese Iron Chef program and was, heeding reviews of the Iron Chef USA television series when it first came out, a little apprehensive about this one. It doesn't have the exotic charm of the Japanese Iron Chef series, and William Shatner is way too well known to play what should be the mysterious Chairman, but other than that this is a decent rental. IRON CHEF USA is to the original what The Magnificent Seven is to Seven Samurai - a painless way to kill time with some bright moments, but it can't hold a candle to the original.

1/5 Let me explain
  by SystemStructure (town, WA United States)
The reason the original "Iron Chef" was such an awesome show was entirely due to the bad translation and over the top voice acting. Therefore, without these elements, it becomes a pathetic charade of the original program.

I was, at one time, a hardcore cult fan of "Iron Chef" because of the hilarious voice overs and true, foreign zest of Chairman Kaga and the gang. I really didn't care much for the cooking or whatever food was being prepared. The real heart of the show was the voiceovers and the mad, zesty zeal with which the Japanese chefs went over something as inane as cooking. I loved "Iron Chef" in much the same way as I loved the original "Mystery Science Theater 3000." They were both quirky tv cult shows that gave a certain sense of community among their hardcore fans.

This new show really doesn't cut it in any way, shape, or form. I'm not being unpatriotic or anything, I'm just saying why this new show is so weak. Also, I noticed that once the translators of the original show started figuring out the show was a huge hit, they ruined their own voiceacting by being all self concious. The original few seasons of the first "Iron Chef" are where it's at! Once again, I don't watch this show for the cooking, I watch it for the odd, bizarre translations and cheesy voiceacting.

2/5 If your a True Iron Chef Fan {FoodTv} dont waste your $!
  by Bigb5399
Do not confuse this with the Real thing. i found teh VHS of this for $1 at a store near me. I was interested so i got it. I watch Iron Chef on the Food Network evey night, and this dosent even begin to hold a candle to it! The one commentator is a failed comedian, and the other is a culinary half wit!I never heard more ussless facts in a 90min span b4 in my life. The chefs in the first baattle were, for lack of a better term dissrespectful, i mean come on how are you gonna have a cell phone on you and answer it During a Cooking battle?!? They kept cutting away from the cooking to show interview clips with the chefs. The Cooks were pretty good, they had a decent talent but we didnt get to see as much of it here as you do on the real show. There Flour reporter keeps bugging them thru out the whole thing, asking questionspassed down from the dumb announcer.They kept tryign to play shatner off as a culinary genius but come on we all know that he is nothing but a medeocore actor....out side of star trek or wat ever he was on. The only you see shatner is when he is talking about clearly prewritten statements that sound kinda incoherant lol. All in all i give this 2 stars, and that purely gose ot the merit of the chefs, not to the shows them selfs. Unless your a shatner Fanatic, or sone won thats just kinnda like "its cooking, I'll watch it" but be warned. Its not as good as it could be. Glad i only spen $1 on it bc its truely not worth more.

1/5 Chairman William Shatner? Be Afraid! Be Very Afraid!!!
  by M. Hart (USA)
Between 1993 and 1999, a popular television show in Japan called "Iron Chef" ("Ryori no tetsujin") pitted its acclaimed one of its professional chefs against a challenging chef each week using a particular theme ingredient in all of the dishes made. The show was hosted by the flamboyant Chairman Kaga (Takeshi Kaga) who opened each show, presented the challenger, unveiled the theme ingredient and gave a brief synopsis before the winning chef was declared. The show gained popularity in syndication in the U.S. on the Food Network using a mixture of dubbed English and subtitles.

Due to the rising popularity of the show from cable subscribers, the UPN TV network decided to broadcast an American version of the show in 2001 that was produced by the Larry Thompson Organization and Lions Gate Television of Canada. Unfortunately, these two companies failed to effectively reproduce the elements of the Japanese show that had made it so popular. Instead, they created a poorly written & directed substitute that was akin to watching a WWF wrestling match, not a challenge between two professional chefs.

The first mistake that the Larry Thompson Organization and Lions Gate Television made was in their selection of the new chairman for "Iron Chef USA". Though I very much enjoy William Shatner in his roles as Captain Kirk in the original "Star Trek" TV series, T.J. Hooker in the show of the same name and his more recent role as an attorney in "Boston Legal", his attempt at being chairman of "Iron Chef USA" was far too farcical and clownish to be taken seriously in trying to replicate Takeshi Kaga's flamboyance from the original Japanese TV series. Their next mistake was in the commentaries. During each of the original Japanese "Iron Chef" shows, a group of commentators (which included a culinary expert) would explain what each chef was doing, as well as analyze the possible dish outcomes. The "Iron Chef USA" commentators treated the two chefs as if they were athletes and would even send in an annoying "field reporter" (Sissy Biggers) to ask them stupid question while they were busily preparing their meals. Their other major mistake was their selection of judges. Most of the Japanese "Iron Chef" shows included an actual food critic as one of the judges, as well as Japanese actors, actresses & sports personalities, who were quite articulate in their critiques of the prepared meals; but the "Iron Chef USA" judges were inarticulate and inexperienced.

Not surprisingly (and quite thankfully), only two episodes of "Iron Chef USA" starring William Shatner were ever produced and were entitled, "Iron Chef USA: Showdown in Las Vegas" and "Iron Chef USA: Holiday Showdown". Each of these shows on the DVD I rate with a well-deserved 1 out of 5 stars for being poor mockeries of the much more entertaining original Japanese version. In 2004, the Food Network's produced its own version entitled "Iron Chef America: Battle of the Masters" that included two of the beloved original Japanese Iron Chefs, Hiroyuki Sakai and Masaharu Morimoto, and was hosted by Takeshi Kaga's nephew, Mark Dacascos. It was a far better show than the ill-fated 2001 "Iron Chef USA". If you are considering purchase of the 2001 "Iron Chef USA" DVD, you do so at your own risk.