Shark Bytes
It's an understood fact that product placement in today's television will not disappear. With that being said, the BMW episode, I mean the US Southwest, episode, in my opinion, brought this otherwise awesome show to the edge of the ramp. With the shark hungry for Bourdain's blood. I can accept blatant "adver-vision" shows like TOP CHEF, because the sponsors that are announced every 5 minutes, have their products offered as prizes, and also buy time for spots. What burns me is the sneaky slide.
Why a show about food from the Southwest starts in a BMW dealership is beyond me. The car he test drove was shot from more angles, than the food he was there to promote and taste. I can't scream "sell-out" or anything like that, because absolute redemption was achieved with follow-up shows like "Spain", and "Tokyo" not to mention the " Saudi Arabia" episode! My best guess is although the program Holds Mr. Bourdain's name, even he has a boss and sometimes you "gotta do, what you gotta do", just don't take the audience for a bunch of idiots. With that being said, I have a strong desire to go car shopping, maybe something from Germany....
Why a show about food from the Southwest starts in a BMW dealership is beyond me. The car he test drove was shot from more angles, than the food he was there to promote and taste. I can't scream "sell-out" or anything like that, because absolute redemption was achieved with follow-up shows like "Spain", and "Tokyo" not to mention the " Saudi Arabia" episode! My best guess is although the program Holds Mr. Bourdain's name, even he has a boss and sometimes you "gotta do, what you gotta do", just don't take the audience for a bunch of idiots. With that being said, I have a strong desire to go car shopping, maybe something from Germany....
Bourdain's show is a culinary journey spiced with travel, food history, culture, and taste tests. NO RESERVATIONS blends the poetic with the candid, extending food beyond the tedious realm of overly processed cooking shows.
Bizarre Foods is interesting, but I've discovered that it serves beyond the shock factor. Watch Bizarre and you'll lose your appetite and lose weight. I've successfully controlled my appetite because of this one show alone! Yes, the bald, chunky host can be somewhat irksome, but he'll extinguish your pangs of hunger with blood pudding, bats, and beetles.
Bizarre Foods is interesting, but I've discovered that it serves beyond the shock factor. Watch Bizarre and you'll lose your appetite and lose weight. I've successfully controlled my appetite because of this one show alone! Yes, the bald, chunky host can be somewhat irksome, but he'll extinguish your pangs of hunger with blood pudding, bats, and beetles.
He went to some South Seas island and got a COOL tattoo just like the islanders had.This after going to lengths explaining the symbolism and historic perspective of the native islanders' tattoos. Tony, you're 50 years old. Hint: If your over 25 and don't already have a tattoo, don't get one, especially if they have special cultural meaning and you're not part of that culture!
Has never jumped, will never jumped. The sexy, vivacious Tony is my favorite TV eye candy. He's completely unabashed in his criticism, extremely respectful of other cultures in his own lovable, sarcastic way. And I gotta agree with him, there's no better food than strip club food! LOL
Hey Jennifer.....wasn't there a scene in the Vancouver episode where Bourdain gets totally wasted with a bunch of Chinese dudes and then eats a wild hog?????
That is all I see whenever I turn this show on....however, I do not think that it has jumped..
That is all I see whenever I turn this show on....however, I do not think that it has jumped..
Sadly, No Reservations jumped with the recent Vancouver, BC episode - it was nothing but a fluff piece featuring Bourdain's chef friends and their high-end restaurants. Combine that with the co-star role given to Bourdain's inexperienced young producer, and several flagrantly self-promotional pieces featuring Bourdain in a ***** game, Bourdain on the slopes of Whistler, and Bourdain in a sh*tty movie and you have a ****** for disaster.
Where was Vancouver's amazing ethnic scene? Where were the out-of-the-way, hole-in-the-wall shacks Bourdain takes such great pleasure in visiting while visiting other locations? How could somebody as brilliant as Bourdain take an amazing, culinarily vibrant city like Vancouver and turn it into a piece of crap waste of 60 minutes of TV time. At the very least, Tony, you owe it to Vancouver to do a follow-up piece featuring REAL restaurants, REAL people, and of REAL interest to those of us who actually call ourselves fans of yours.
Where was Vancouver's amazing ethnic scene? Where were the out-of-the-way, hole-in-the-wall shacks Bourdain takes such great pleasure in visiting while visiting other locations? How could somebody as brilliant as Bourdain take an amazing, culinarily vibrant city like Vancouver and turn it into a piece of crap waste of 60 minutes of TV time. At the very least, Tony, you owe it to Vancouver to do a follow-up piece featuring REAL restaurants, REAL people, and of REAL interest to those of us who actually call ourselves fans of yours.
This show jumped the shark during one episode when Bourdain came roaring into town on his bike. He then went out into the jungle and stalked and killed a wild hog.....
Following that, he went into some creepy Vietnamese village and got totally wasted with a bunch of Sumu wrestlers. After that stop, our hero then sat down and ate the Wild Hog with a bunch of guys that have been hiding out in the jungle for over 30 years who used to be in the Jim Jones cult..After Bourdain was done with his meal, he went back thru the village and sampled every alcoholic bevarage that he could get his hands on, and he also ate everything in his path, including a live chicken...
That is when this show jumped....
Following that, he went into some creepy Vietnamese village and got totally wasted with a bunch of Sumu wrestlers. After that stop, our hero then sat down and ate the Wild Hog with a bunch of guys that have been hiding out in the jungle for over 30 years who used to be in the Jim Jones cult..After Bourdain was done with his meal, he went back thru the village and sampled every alcoholic bevarage that he could get his hands on, and he also ate everything in his path, including a live chicken...
That is when this show jumped....
Bourdain is an obnoxious loudmouth and a food bigot who cannot respect the choices of others (non-religous veggies, non smokers)...but he was always that way. You either liked it or hated it.
The show jumped when it became clear that the network got cheap about it and started sending the show all over the US instead..come on, we go from Iceland to Japan to NEWARK and CLEVELAND??? I thought the travel channel's bread and butter was vicarious travel, but who wants to armchair travel to Newark? Meet up with Andrew Zimmern in NY? CHEAP!
The show jumped when it became clear that the network got cheap about it and started sending the show all over the US instead..come on, we go from Iceland to Japan to NEWARK and CLEVELAND??? I thought the travel channel's bread and butter was vicarious travel, but who wants to armchair travel to Newark? Meet up with Andrew Zimmern in NY? CHEAP!
This show jumped the shark when Bourdain went to some remote European area, slaughtered a hog, got wasted, and partied with a bunch of Chinese dudes......
This is truly the greatest show on telivision! After it's over I get all sad and just crave more! With todays crap we have to choose from, paying for my cable bill is a hard thing to do, UNTIL I tuned on to Tony a few months ago, and I finally have a night of tv to look forward to. I'm getting the dvd of the past season and I will probably never get tired of watching it. 'No Reservations' is simply PERFECT telivision entertainment. LOVE him! OH and Rachael Ray? Please go AWAY! Your a JOKE!!!
I have to agree that this is one of the greatest shows ever...Bourdain is a really cool guy and people should watch this show....BTW...he is absolutely hilarious on "Top Chef"..
It has not jumped yet, and I think that Bourdain is set enough in his ways to not allow it to jump. If you ever proposed something stupid to the guy, he would either refuse to do it, or make damn sure that everyone knows he knew it was stupid. I think it showed its resilience when the Travel Channel foisted the terrible “bizarre foods” guy on him, and he still remained the master of the show. It came a little close, however, this week when we had the weepy cattle ranch moment, and he got choked up about the way the cows were being treated. Compared to how your average cattle get treated in the United States, those cows in Argentina have it made. Why do you think they can eat beef all the time and stay skinny? Because they eat grass fed range raised meat. If you ever drive past a feed lot, you realize that that was not that bad. At the same time, I appreciate someone who can watch a cow get slaughtered and still eat beef.
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