Opening Soon (TV show)

[Daddy-A]

Just finished watching the Century episode.

Disclaimer, I know Sean ... and Andrew for that matter, so I (amongst others here) have a little background on the show.

I found the "tension" between Sean & Michael to be a little "staged" ... okay, a LOT staged. Unfortunately the lack of any real drama left the episode a bit lacking. And for crtin' out loud Andrew, staighten your glasses!

Was there a reason they didn't talk to Remi that much? To me the show spent so much time on the room (they didn't deal with the banquettes where I understand there was some REAL tension) and not enough time dealing with the food.

Having said all that, Century comes off looking pretty good. However, now that I know it's a place for "trendy young trend-setters" I'm not sure I fit in! Great shots of Vancouver, both sunny & rainy. A couple of really nice shots of City Hall.

And I agree with Sean ... the pork bellies ROCK!

A.

[Andrew Morrison]

My youngest went berserk with my specs that morning (he's in the "clutching" stage), but that's no excuse for poor face time on the boob. It's really my nose, a bulbous Colobian mishap of a blower. Apologies.

My wife thought I looked pretty.

Fun stuff. Fine restaurant, modern latin cowboy theme and all (needs a little bit more cowbell).

The permit hilarity I found particularly accurate. You've got to wonder, what would Che do?

They still don't have a website together, but you can read the menus and the original press releases on mine.

Edited March 21, 2006 by Andrew Morrison (log)

[Mike Mitchell]

My youngest went berserk with my specs that morning (he's in the "clutching" stage), but that's no excuse for poor face time on the boob. It's really my nose, a bulbous Colobian mishap of a blower. Apologies.

My wife thought I looked pretty.

Fun stuff. Fine restaurant, modern latin cowboy theme and all (needs a little bit more cowbell).

The permit hilarity I found particularly accurate. You've got to wonder, what would Che do?

They still don't have a website together, but you can read the menus and the original press releases on mine.

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I'm just wondering who Mr Morrison had to sleep with to get so much air time?? I too would have liked to see a bit more of the room but I can't imagine it being easy squeezing six months of footage into twenty minutes of air time. (Or at least a bit more of the Manager)

[Andrew Morrison]

^

Be comforted by your tired feet and your full room!

How did it go over at the restaurant?

Why the hell hasn't the star himself swaggered in to this thread, all obese with the wares of fame?

"Modern Latin Cowboy. Modern Latin Cowboy. Modern Latin Cowboy."

Well done.

[ktbear]

I thought the episode was very good, but i must agree that more focus on the room and food would have been nice. i assume that there must have been some limitations on shooting the entire room as a whole because it didn't seem to ever show up in its final stages. by the way, Andrew i didn't even notice the crooked glasses.

[ssherwood]

Ironically, I found the experience akin to listening to your own voice doing karaoke.

I found the episode entertaining to say the least, but I was also expecting much more focus on the room, and less so on myself and Michael.

I felt there were many other really good storylines that got cut, but hey, with 50 hrs of footage cut down to 22 minutes, I can understand. It has been a great response so far, and everyone has been very polite in assuring me I didnt look completely insane. Thanks for that.

Mike and I had a great time, and besides all the continuity issues that probably only I can see, I think they did a great job. The crew was fantastic throughout the experience.

[Dianne]

Just saw the Century episode and the room looks gorgeous; the food divine. I am way over here in the Toronto area, but I would love to come if I ever get to Vancouver.

[Memo]

..."Modern Latin Cowboy. Modern Latin Cowboy. Modern Latin Cowboy."

Well done.

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I found this epiisode of Opening Soon particularly lame - and extremely irritating - to quote "Modern Latin Cowboy" (which, by the way, was never actually defined).

I came away from the screen with a clear feeling that the owners - and chef - did not have any grasp or understanding of (the nuances of) Latin cuisine.

So little attention paid on the kitchen design - and too much paid on the bitchiness of the owners.

I'd like to have had a quote from the painters who actually did the mural work.

Memo

[ssherwood]

Yeah, memo, I think you said it well.

I personally spent a lot of time with the crew detailing the concept's nuances, histories and geographies, but I found most of the relevant details were lost on the cutting room floor.

They tricked me with the whole 'MLC' 5 times fast line. It just goes to show, reality TV is simply unpaid actors following a script they haven't read yet.

I would love to get the entire episode's footage and see a different edit that focussed entirely on the food, the design elements and the philosophies, but I'm not sure they would release the footage to me.

This episode, I'm told, represented a clear shift in production styles from their previous episodes, focussing on the human stories behind the opening more so.

All in all, let's be honest, it's a fantastic medium for exposure regardless of which editorial slant is there, so I won't complain. Not only that, they never really asked me for my opinion on the editing. I wonder if a different program will pick up where OS seems to miss some people, in the focus on the other details we're all so interested in seeing.

You can't imagine that I like watching an episode of me and Mike being 'bitchy' to eachother, it's much further from the truth than I would like.