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Lynette Hanson

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Posts posted by Lynette Hanson

  1. How much money can/could sang make taking all the Bourdain fans out on Vietnam excursions like this one save the motor scooter? If I was going to Vietnam I'd happily pay him for his services. Because without him my guess is a guy like me would have zero chance of experiencing stuff like he did on the show. Of course the welcomming parties from the commies probably wouldn't be waiting for me.

    Sang was the man with the island resort at the end. The scooter guy was his friend Linh. And wasn't that a scooter ride to remember? I don't know how the two of them managed to balance so well with all of that traffic coming from so many different directions. However, having seen that, I had all the faith in the world that Bourdain would be able to dance later with the chairman--and he did.

  2. So, where else can we look forward to Tony visiting? I see Malaysia is coming up next week.

    I hope they re-run these, cuz I missed the Iceland episode, since the Marriott in Tampa's cable selections did not include the travel channel (or much else).

    I bet you could sell  Tony's Deep-Fried Squeezel on a Stick at state fairs.

    Here's a link to some of the schedule for "No Reservations."

    http://travel.discovery.com/schedule/serie...787&channel=TRV

    I imagine it's updated by the Travel Channel as days go by, so maybe Iceland will return as Paris does here.

  3. Just watched the Iceland episode this weekend.  I thought it was the funniest of the three episodes so far, especially the Viking feast (Freebird!).

    Anyway, I couldn't help thinking that the lawyers at the Travel Channel must go nuts every time they screen an episode.  I don't think fewer than 3 celebs get openly mocked/insulted by Tony in every episode.  By my count, here's who Tony's gotten so far:

    Rocco

    Sarah Jessica Parker

    Tom Cruise

    Now I'm blanking.  Help me out, I know there's more.

    Paris Hilton comes to mind instantly, unfortunately.

  4. I adore the show on many levels-as a traveler, a foodie and a Bourdain fan.  I like the pithy comments, off beat venues  and pranks.  Interestingly, the Travel Channel was soliciting viewer comments/opinions  regarding the program.  I forgot the toll free number.  I was surprised there was not a web address.  Hope the reviews are favorable to justify more seasons.  Call in today!

    Here's the number from the Travel Channel's blog about the show as posted at http://community.discovery.com/groupee/for...rm/f/6811975208

    "Everyone's got an opinion ... we want yours. Tell us what you think of Tony's show! Call 1-888-896-TONY (8669) and give us a mouthful."

  5. On the other hand, I think he and his producers are making a pretty big assumption that viewers will "get" the staging and be able to seperate out the "Info" from the "-tainment".  Frankly... a lot of people aren't smart enough to do that. 

    Finally, a reason to make a comment on this endless thread.

    Jon, I think that's what I find appealing about this show, and probably Bourdain in general. The producers of this show, and certainly Bourdain, don't seem to be catering to the lowest common denominator. If you get it, I suspect that they are pleased that it is being enjoyed in the way that they are offering it, and if you don't get it, well, I imagine they are just as pleased.

    It's cable, after all. It's a small audience show and if they reduce their audience by 25% because that percentage just doesn't like it, or doesn't get it, or both, I suspect that they feel like they are hitting their mark.

    The other thing is this-I keep thinking that if someone gave me some money, a couple of folks with cameras and microphones, and then told me to go to the airport and bring back an hour's worth of amusement from some far flung locale that I would come up with something like this. Clearly the guy is pretty much doing what he wants to on these shows without much oversight from the Network. Now, there may be a huge difference in what he films and what gets on (I know for a fact that he filmed in a number of Jersey locales other than the ones that were shown), and that may have something to do with the network, but I believe that he is filming what he wants to film and more or less saying what he wants to say. I don't know who puts together the final piece, but I am guessing that it has more to do with Bourdain than the network.

    Anyway, I like it. It beats 95% of the stuff on TV right now (because 6 Feet Under is a maudlin piece of crap this season and The Wire is a year away) and I'll watch it again-especially next week, as Viet Nam is on my short list of desired destinations (just behind Madagascar- Food is twenty times better in VN, but I mean, well, Madagascar looks like another planet).

    It's not perfect, but it's pretty good. And, with time, could be great.

    Incidentally, last night's reference tying together the killing of lobsters and the dismembering of Paris Hilton was pretty hysterical. The list of groups that he potentially angered in two minutes was pretty long.

    Bourdain and the show are absolutely a hoot, that's all there is to it for me. He's running down the road with the wheels-of-life a little bit out of alignment--but who cares? He's still getting there, and we who are willing are able to go along. That's what makes life great fun--looking at it a bit askew beats square-on almost all of the time, as far as I'm concerned. For me, square-on can be tiring at best, daunting at worst. I'm a firm believer in taking advantage of a chance to learn, to laugh, to lighten up, to see things differently. Since it's often said that my middle name is "Go," I'm right there.

    Oh, I forgot. As a librarian (for real), I absolutely loved it when he called his mother to wish her a "Happy Birthday" from Satin Dolls and told her he was at the library. My 29-year-old son just told me that if he ever said he was at the library that I should know the truth of the matter from now on, thanks to Bourdain.

  6. On the other hand, I think he and his producers are making a pretty big assumption that viewers will "get" the staging and be able to seperate out the "Info" from the "-tainment".  Frankly... a lot of people aren't smart enough to do that. 

    Finally, a reason to make a comment on this endless thread.

    Jon, I think that's what I find appealing about this show, and probably Bourdain in general. The producers of this show, and certainly Bourdain, don't seem to be catering to the lowest common denominator. If you get it, I suspect that they are pleased that it is being enjoyed in the way that they are offering it, and if you don't get it, well, I imagine they are just as pleased.

    It's cable, after all. It's a small audience show and if they reduce their audience by 25% because that percentage just doesn't like it, or doesn't get it, or both, I suspect that they feel like they are hitting their mark.

    The other thing is this-I keep thinking that if someone gave me some money, a couple of folks with cameras and microphones, and then told me to go to the airport and bring back an hour's worth of amusement from some far flung locale that I would come up with something like this. Clearly the guy is pretty much doing what he wants to on these shows without much oversight from the Network. Now, there may be a huge difference in what he films and what gets on (I know for a fact that he filmed in a number of Jersey locales other than the ones that were shown), and that may have something to do with the network, but I believe that he is filming what he wants to film and more or less saying what he wants to say. I don't know who puts together the final piece, but I am guessing that it has more to do with Bourdain than the network.

    Anyway, I like it. It beats 95% of the stuff on TV right now (because 6 Feet Under is a maudlin piece of crap this season and The Wire is a year away) and I'll watch it again-especially next week, as Viet Nam is on my short list of desired destinations (just behind Madagascar- Food is twenty times better in VN, but I mean, well, Madagascar looks like another planet).

    It's not perfect, but it's pretty good. And, with time, could be great.

    Incidentally, last night's reference tying together the killing of lobsters and the dismembering of Paris Hilton was pretty hysterical. The list of groups that he potentially angered in two minutes was pretty long.

    Bourdain and the show are absolutely a hoot, that's all there is to it for me. He's running down the road with the wheels-of-life a little bit out of alignment--but who cares? He's still getting there, and we who are willing are able to go along. That's what makes life great fun--looking at it a bit askew beats square-on almost all of the time, as far as I'm concerned. For me, square-on can be tiring at best, daunting at worst. I'm a firm believer in taking advantage of a chance to learn, to laugh, to lighten up, to see things differently. Since it's often said that my middle name is "Go," I'm right there.

  7. Gosh, y'all. Now, I'll glady admit that I've never seen Bourdain on TV until "No Reservations," but after reading "Kitchen Confidential" and "A Cook's Tour," his TV persona rings true for me.

    Maybe, just maybe, Bourdain has a good deal of creative input and wants some of it to look tongue-in-cheek or somewhat contrived--like running into that absinthe man--but didn't we all learn some interesting stuff anyway?

    And for pete's sake, you know that a network is not going to spend all of the moolah it must cost to put together a show like this and let every single bit of it be left up to chance. I mean, I'm trying to write an article for the Jackson Free Press about a day-in-the-life of a tow truck driver and can only ride with him on a Saturday (I'm a middle school librarian the rest of his work week)--his boss told me that it might not amount to much since Saturday is not usually a busy day. What I'm trying to say is what would we be tuning in on the Travel Channel if all of Bourdain's days were such Saturdays? He's not out there waiting for a wreck or someone's temp light to come on; he's taking us on his travels, showing us things he thinks we'd like to see, for which I'm profoundly grateful.

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