willy wonka and the chocolate factory

'Top Chef: Just Desserts' is not a new show. However, Season 2 feels like a completely different program compared to the first season. Nobody can attest to that more than 'Just Desserts' host Gail Simmons.

"The first season of a show, you want to test the waters and it's always a bit of an experiment to see what works and what doesn't," Simmons told AOL TV. "I think, as with 'Top Chef' the original show, we learned that we wanted to up the ante every season and that's what we did."

Compared to last season's wide array of dessert makers -- from more basic bakers to quirky pastry chefs -- Simmons said the Season 2 contestants are more focused, high-level pastry chefs.

"It's not so much about getting desserts onto a plate, or plating desserts," she said. "It's about constructing imaginative masterpieces that are edible. So it's much more architectural and it's really about the highest level of skill that a pastry chef requires. So much more than just a piece of cake."

On this week's episode (Wed., Sept. 14, 10PM ET on Bravo), 'Top Chef: Just Desserts' pays tribute to 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,' something Simmons said got quite emotional.

Fans of Mystery Science Theater 3000 like myself (or "Misties" as we're sometimes called) remember a half-hour special dedicated to the show that aired on Comedy Central back in the early '90s called This is MST3k. The special was hosted by comedian/musician Penn Jillette and featured a handful of celebrities praising a series that folks like myself fell in love with the very first time we saw it.

One of those celebrities was Neil Patrick Harris, so it should come as no surprise that Harris will be joining former Mystery Science Theater 3000 host Michael J. Nelson on the RiffTrax recording for Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. RiffTrax are downloadable audio commentaries you play in sync with your DVD. Nelson, and sometimes his former mates from MST3k, provide a hilarious commentary much like they did back on the Satellite of Love.