We haven’t been watching much in the way of television lately. Partially because it’s summer, and partially because now the kids are going to bed at 9 instead of 8, and 9 is bordering on bedtime. (Hey, you go have some kids and see how you do!)
But we have been watching a few new things. “MI-5” on A&E (evidently originally it was called “Spooks” on the BBC, but Americans would tune in expecting something quite different if they kept that name). Yes, we watch “Monk,” and we know you probably do too, because it’s the highest rated show on basic cable. (I could do a whole thing about “Monk,” about how it’s a completely retro 70’s-detective style drama that’s as hokey as all get out, but Tony Shalhoub is so wonderful that he sells the whole damn creaky package.) And we’re big fans of “Lucky,” the half-hour dramedy about Las Vegas that has the two funniest guys on TV, bar none: Lucky’s sidekicks. I don’t know who those guys are or where they found them, but they are priceless.
We’ve also begun watching is “The Restaurant,” which is a hybrid of one of our favorite genres, the food show, crossed with one of our least favorite, the reality show.
“The Restaurant” is the story of chef Rocco DiSpirito opening his new restaurant, Rocco’s, in Manhattan. From finding the space to auditioning waiters to opening night and beyond, “The Restaurant” ostensibly shows us the craziness that goes into a high-profile restaurant.
Because of the subject matter, we keep watching it, but this isn’t at the RJ Cutler level of reality programming. It’s more a descendant of the staged “reality” of “Survivor”: editing clearly creates something that wasn’t necessarily there when the events occurred. It’s unclear how much say the show’s producers have in how the restaurant’s run: it’s not surprising that most of the waiters in a New York restaurant would be actors, but there’s something fishy about the cast…I mean, the staff. The guy who’s first in line at the casting call for restaurant staff just happens to be the central figure in the drama of a subplot in the second and third episodes! The backstage catfighting! The glamour of being a celebrity chef!
We’ll probably keep watching, but Darin sez it’s doesn’t compare to his reality show favorite of all time, “American High.” (Which was, of course, filmed at his high school, Highland Park High.)
“The Restaurant” also shows us the bleak future of the post-TiVo world. Reportedly TiVos aren’t selling that well and Hollywood isn’t concerned. Don’t you believe it. People are skipping commercials? Screw that, the shows are the commercials. The ad placements in this show are horrifying in their obviousness, for their integration into the show. We not only see the American Express logo several times during any given episode, but a subplot of the second episode revolved around an American Express card. You can’t show people drinking beer during a beer commercial, but during this show you can show the entire staff of the restaurant drinking big plastic cups of Coors—another sponsor of the show.
Every episode has one major moment for one of the big three sponsors: American Express, Coors, and Mitsubishi. They’re obvious insertions. The only way you can tell the American Express commercials from the show itself is the different style of photography.
Ah, Spooks. I watched one episode of that and thought it was rubbish. The slogan for it (over here at least) is “MI5, not 9 to 5” — except that David Shayler (a notorious renegade MI5 officer, who revealed an alleged plot to assasinate Colonel Gaddafi) explained in a Guardian article, most of the work is 9 to 5 (5:15, to be exact). He’d been hired to be a technical consultant for the series, but gave up, he said, because the producers’ story ideas were involved things that were none of MI5’s business and they weren’t interested in taking his advice.
I am very disappointed that the show was going off the air. It had many qualities that many other show lack. reality and human interest.
There is a restaurant in West Palm Beach, FL which fits in very nicely with their formay.
Please have them reply