Anthony Bourdains holiday Special

[KristiB50]

Monday Dec 10

http://travel.discovery.com/tv/bourdain/bo...in-holiday.html

The holiday season is a time of year when families come together and try to put aside their differences. The Bourdain family is no exception. Join Anthony Bourdain as he travels to Connecticut to spend the holiday with his brother’s family in the Hudson River Valley. And to top off the festivities, Tony has agreed to cook the holiday meal....

[jsmeeker]

This sounds like an interesting program. Thanks for the heads up.

[PDC]

Some curling friends of mine were involved in shooting part of this. Tony went curling at the Nutmeg curling club in Bridgeport, CT. Of course, since this is a Christmas special this was shot around Labor Day weekend. Wonder how much (if any) of the curling scenes will air. And I wonder how much other stuff they shot back then. It was pretty warm then I recall.

[VenerableBede]

have been looking forward to this. . .tony and queens of the stone age in christmas sweaters. . .

[handmc]

I truly enjoyed this program. Usual snarkyness but what I really liked was his cooking segment.

Get Tony to PBS! I bet he would do a kick ass show, funny, great tips, good looking food. If his travel show ever dries up he has something he can fall back on. It was like watching his cook book come to life.

[caseyell]

damnit! I missed this; must see if there will be a repeat showing.

[Giagie]

I missed it too. I just checked my guide and it shows that this will be replayed 12/12 at 11:00 pm (EST) on the travel channel. Hope that helps.

[FoodMan]

damnit! I missed this; must see if there will be a repeat showing.

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My stupid DVR did not pick it up either!! Probably cause it's not called No Reservations. There seems to be a rerun on Wednesday, so I set it for then.

[Holly Moore]

It was fun but came across as more staged than his usual episodes - like the director kept telling Bourdain to "turn up the Bourdain," - similar to asking Scrooge to put more bah in his humbug. This was Bourdain playing a sit-com version of Bourdain.

Glad he included the segment on fois gras. Though Tony was preaching to the choir, the segment showed the whole production process which I have never seen before. Wiped out a bunch of misconceptions on my part.

[Swicks]

I truly enjoyed this program. Usual snarkyness but what I really liked was his cooking segment.

Get Tony to PBS! I bet he would do a kick ass show, funny, great tips, good looking food. If his travel show ever dries up he has something he can fall back on. It was like watching his cook book come to life.

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I too was surprised at how good he was during this portion, it would be a great show, cooking instruction plus snark and hilarity. Sounds like a recipe for success to me (pardon the awful pun). Not surprising given that he has been on tv for awhile and is just naturally good on camera.

[kiliki]

I didn't think the episode was that great. More and more he does these staged scenarios that to me just aren't that funny. His normal, natural self, and his normal reactions to new situations, are much funnier and more interesting than anything the producers can conjure up. But it seems like in the episodes that deal with less exotic places--the Tuscany one, and this, for example--they feel like they need to invent storylines.

I enjoyed the cooking segment, and would have liked to see more of that.

Edited December 11, 2007 by kiliki (log)

[Swicks]

I didn't think the episode was that great. More and more he does these staged scenarios that to me just aren't that funny. His normal, natural self, and his normal reactions to new situations, are much funnier and more interesting than anything the producers can conjure up. But it seems like in the episodes that deal with less exotic places--the Tuscany one, and this, for example--they feel like they need to invent storylines.

I enjoyed the cooking segment, and would have liked to see more of that.

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Totally agree with this....

The stuff with his neice and nephew wasn't really funny to me either.

[Jen Keenan]

Favorite bits were between the Stone Barns visit and the D'Artagnan one. Least favorite, definitely the 'let's get the kids to act bratty and swear in front of innocent strangers' shtick. Kids swearing is only funny if it's entirely natural or completely fictional. And no, I never thought I would become a snob about children and foul language.

Elie, I've noticed the Travel Channel is slapping their stars' names on all their shows now. Perhaps if you used "Anthony Bourdain" instead of "No Reservations" as your keywords your DVR would pick everything up.

And Tony, nice gravy! But there are no chefs in my family (despite what my brother thinks of himself), my mom's gravy was perfectly delicious, and most people know that poultry gravy just isn't brown. Or don't they?

[malarkey]

I didn't think the episode was that great. More and more he does these staged scenarios that to me just aren't that funny. His normal, natural self, and his normal reactions to new situations, are much funnier and more interesting than anything the producers can conjure up. But it seems like in the episodes that deal with less exotic places--the Tuscany one, and this, for example--they feel like they need to invent storylines.

I enjoyed the cooking segment, and would have liked to see more of that.

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I'm with kiliki on this. Part of it is they now have a whole hour to fill, whereas CT was only a half-hour. It still seems like they struggle for content to fill up that time.

I liked the part with Ariane Daguin, and the segment on foie gras. Loved the opening of the champagne!

[Vinotas]

I didn't think the episode was that great. More and more he does these staged scenarios that to me just aren't that funny. His normal, natural self, and his normal reactions to new situations, are much funnier and more interesting than anything the producers can conjure up. But it seems like in the episodes that deal with less exotic places--the Tuscany one, and this, for example--they feel like they need to invent storylines.

I enjoyed the cooking segment, and would have liked to see more of that.

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Completely agree. I wasn't thrilled with the episode, though I did like the foie gras and the cooking parts. Those seemed more "real" to me.

[moosnsqrl]

I didn't think the episode was that great. More and more he does these staged scenarios that to me just aren't that funny. His normal, natural self, and his normal reactions to new situations, are much funnier and more interesting than anything the producers can conjure up. But it seems like in the episodes that deal with less exotic places--the Tuscany one, and this, for example--they feel like they need to invent storylines.

I enjoyed the cooking segment, and would have liked to see more of that.

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I'm with kiliki on this. Part of it is they now have a whole hour to fill, whereas CT was only a half-hour. It still seems like they struggle for content to fill up that time.

I liked the part with Ariane Daguin, and the segment on foie gras. Loved the opening of the champagne!

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Me too. the bratty niece and nephew were trite from the onset and only grew staler. It does seem they over-script to over-compensate for a perceived lack of edginess when taking the road more traveled.

[Swicks]

I didn't think the episode was that great. More and more he does these staged scenarios that to me just aren't that funny. His normal, natural self, and his normal reactions to new situations, are much funnier and more interesting than anything the producers can conjure up. But it seems like in the episodes that deal with less exotic places--the Tuscany one, and this, for example--they feel like they need to invent storylines.

I enjoyed the cooking segment, and would have liked to see more of that.

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I'm with kiliki on this. Part of it is they now have a whole hour to fill, whereas CT was only a half-hour. It still seems like they struggle for content to fill up that time.

I liked the part with Ariane Daguin, and the segment on foie gras. Loved the opening of the champagne!

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How could I forget....Ariane Daguin is a goddess, a force of good in a world that is increasingly becoming evil. I salute her.

[ken T]

A let down. I fell asleep during the last 20 minutes!

[heidih]

A let down.  I fell asleep during the last 20 minutes! 

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Me too! I was so disappointed with the scripted, not-funny stuff with the kids and the tree, walked away, came back and enjoyed the D'Artagnan portion and started to watch the cooking but when he was just sloshing the pan remains of grease and juice in, it started to look odd. That phrase "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" needs to be drummed into the producer/director.

[purplewiz]

It had its moments, but add me in with the chorus of "the scripted stuff really didn't work and was awkward at best". I've found I really dislike the scripted/storyline shows like Tuscany.

Marcia.

[foodE]

Can I join the "I don't like the scripted stuff" club, too?

[rlibkind]

I think Tony looked the shark in its face, thought about jumping, but turned around and said the f--- with it.

[Luna Calvados]

I agree that the scripted parts with the extended family, band, and curling were filler for the hour, but I enjoyed the more educational segments: Ariane Daguin of D'Artagnan and her novel technique of opening the champagne, the procuring of the turkeys at Stone Barn Farms, and the force-feeding of the ducks at Hudson Valley Foie Gras. It was also nice to see Tony doing some cooking with his sister-in-law in her home kitchen.

The constant swearing by the niece and nephew was not funny. Were they and Tony in some sort of competition with Gordon Ramsay for the most use of the "f" word?

Also, I was wondering why Tony did not bring his wife and daughter to his brother's house for the holiday reunion? I understand that he was remarried in April 2007, just after his daughter's birth, and supposedly this episode was filmed in September 2007. Tony, the family man who has quit smoking (but not swearing)--now that would have been interesting to see him in that context rather than the usual stereotype of the churlish chef in competition with his brother!

[lucylou95816]

I can't see if this show is on anymore..does anyone know if it will replay?

[lucylou95816]

i just did a search on my dvr for "Anthony Bourdain" iinstead of "No Reservations" like someone had suggested, and it shows the show at 9am (pacific time) on travel channel on Monday the 17th if anyone is interested.