Editor's Note: Haven't started watching The Great British Bake Off yet? Now's the time to start. We'll be recapping the third season every Friday after the episode airs on PBS . Need to catch up? You can find season 1 on Netflix.I have to start these recaps of Season 3 of The Great British Bake Off with a confession.When I saw my first episode a year ago, I was filled with shame. Like many Americans, I first discovered the show (aired as The Great British Baking Show in the U.S.) when a season was released on Netflix. I was immediately smitten. It was reality television that was warm and friendly, and there were lots and lots of cakes involved. The judges, Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood, are almost always kind and gentle. The hosts, Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc, are totally goofy and make inappropriate jokes in between taking turns saying "Let's Bake!" in strange accents. Plus, everyone is actually rooting for the contestants to succeed. Can this lighthearted, pleasant show even be called reality television by American standards? Perhaps not.I quickly realized we could never have something as wonderful here. (In fact, attempts to replicate the success and je ne sais quoi of the British original have all been DOA on our shores). They get good-natured pensioners creating eclairs, we get wine-throwing. I literally had to make myself read an episode recap of Big Brother to remind myself that England wasn’t all just happy bakers tramping around the countryside, whisks in hand.There is also something so hopeful about the cast of the show. They help each other, despite the fact that this is indeed a competition, and seem genuinely upset when anyone has to leave. But don't take my word for it, you have to see it to believe it. So, let's start recapping!