As of late a lot of the reality TV genre has been stinkin' up the airwaves real bad; Big Brother has become a showcase for arrogant, conceited, utterly unlikeable morons. Hell's Kitchen seemed to forget it was a cooking show and selected a bunch of idiots who couldn't even cook. Last Comic Standing kicked all the new and interesting comedians off right away in favor of comedians who already have established careers(i.e. Doug Benson.) Don't even get me started about all those inane Valley, Hills, Gulley shows on MTV-pure crap! So one would start to think all reality TV has run it's course.
Well here is a great example of intelligent, articulate reality TV that is highly entertaining and educational to boot:
Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations
(The Travel Channel; Mondays 10PM ET/PT-9PM CST)
If you don't know Anthony Bourdain, he is most well know for his memoir Kitchen Confidential: Adventures In The Culinary Underbelly, a great look inside the restaurant kitchens of New York. He was born and raised in New York and has cooked in and run many of the great restaurants in the city.
On No Reservations Anthony travels around the world sampling the authentic foods and cultures of the places he visits. His show is more than just a casual culinary expedition, it is also a visual and literary journey through both ordinary and out of the way extraordinary places around the world.
He has been to Russia, Vietnam, Paris, Malaysia, China, Mexico, Las Vegas and every place in between. One very memorable episode is when he and his crew visited Beirut. They had only been a day into their shoot when fighting broke out inside the city and they became trapped, confined to laying low for a week-before finally being rescued by a military transport. Though they only had one day to sample local food wares, Anthony put together a wonderful travelogue of their experiences of being trapped by war. He has such a great grasp on "first person" reporting, he is articulate, smart and yet has such a distinct New York personality throughout his words. But he goes beyond the mundane details and delves into an almost poetic description of what it is he and his crew go through.
His knowledge and passion for each and every location he visits is carefully articulated with every word he says. You get a real sense of what he is experiencing; you the viewer are made to feel you are there with him-learning about the various cultures and tasting the many different culinary dishes he tries. It's as raw and real as any travelogue can be. By the end of each episode you feel you have actually learned something about a place you've perhaps never been and a culture you truly didn't know. Even in his travels throughout the states, you are given a depth of reporting that will most certainly expand your knowledge beyond anything you previously knew about the location.
Let us not forget however, that this is a culinary experience first and foremost. Anthony is one of those people who can eat most anything, at least once. With every new location he has a local guide who shows him what the locals eat on a daily basis and he tries everything-the good, the bad and the totally disgusting. Being a picky eater myself, I'm always greatly impressed by those who can eat with abandon and Anthony is always willing for at least one taste. He conveys his sense of taste like no one else can, his verbal and facial descriptions clearly translate the culinary experience to the viewer. It's a truly pleasurable and fulfilling experience to watch.
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