No Reservations 2012 (VOD Hidden Gem)May 31, 2012
Media savant T Tara Turk goes deep inside cable TV to reveal Video On Demand's Hidden Gems so even the busiest of our readers can get the most out of On Demand TV. Tell Tara what VOD shows you think deserves her attention.
No Reservations (VOD Hidden Gem)
Where will Anthony Bourdian go next (CNN)?
It’s kind of hard to do this Anthony Bourdian “No Reservations: Lisbon” after doing Bravo TV’s “Around the World In 80 Plates” because one definitely has more substance, culture and depth than the other but the one has contrived catty kitchen behavior, backstabbing and highlights the difficulty of cooking under competitive pressure as opposed to social and cultural pressures. I guess it’s kind of like deciding if you want your food fast or do you want to sit down and enjoy it?
Bourdain’s shows are always like taking a mini educating vacation with a host that never takes himself too seriously but knows the right questions to ask. You’d think his stints on things like Bravo’s “Top Chef’ or the attention he gets for calling out Paula Deen on her promotion of butter under her health circumstances would make him more of a public eye puppet like one of the Housewives. But that’s not the case. Bourdain is still Bourdain.
For example, his trip to Lisbon not only highlights the fact the city is the best place to go for inexpensive seafood creations (some that had me going on Kayak and looking for flights) but it’s also a country still healing from an oppressive rule that would have you disappear if you asked what democracy was outloud. Bourdain collects writers, musicians and chefs to give a bigger picture of the city as opposed to the one nighter “Around the World in 80 Plates” gives you.
In addition to this in depth discovery, you can go to the Travel Channel’s website and rehash your own Bourdain tour. You can get a list of restaurants Tony visits, activities he’s tried and some possible accommodations that won’t have you feeling like you’re touring the global Days Inn chain instead of actual historical places.
If you feel like you do want to do a one nighter type of a tv-cation, you can also try Bourdain’s “The Layover” which acts like a condensed version of “No Reservations”. He only has 24-48 hours in each city and each episode too comes with it’s own guide on the Travel Channel website. There’s even an app for “The Layover” where you can map Tony’s trip, check into places, earn badges, see your trip on a map.Tony is quickly becoming the next incarnation of the travelhost - perhaps taking up from where Rick Steves has left off by incorporating a Keraoucan hipster vibe almost more inclined with modern travelers nowadays. Bourdain tweets regularly about his travels and his partner app might just send you into cultured travel euphoria.
In any event, I say demand this season of “No Reservations” and try to catch “The Layover” if there’s a rehash of Season 1 before Season 2 (hopefully) debuts. AND, catch this stuff while you can on the Travel Channel as Bourdain just signed on to do a same type of travel show on CNN and the deal is apparently exclusive.
I don't care where he goes, I don't care what he does....just take us with him....(sounds of Prince cringing as I butcher his Purple Rain classic....but I don’t care!)
T. Tara Turk is a novelist/playwright/screenwriter, living in LA with her boyfriend and dog - all three successful TV addicts. You can find her at www.ttaraturk.com or follow her on Twitter @ttaraturk.
