Archive for the 'Television' Category

Everyones a food critic

Published at July 2, 2009 in Television, food and Life. 0 Comments

I have always loved food. Its kind of obvious when you see me, the belly is large because the food goes in. Unlike a lot of larger people, my girth isnt caused by junk food, or alcohol, just volumes of food. I have never really been a fan of junk food, aside from the rare binge on KFC or maccas in my younger days, most of the food I eat, I have either cooked for myself, or comes from relatively decent restaurants. Consequently, my palate can be quite demanding. So, it follows, I have always had my inner food critic, which monitors what I am eating, in order to decide whether a destination is worth coming back to.

Over the past few years though, there has been a massive run of foodie tv shows. Awesome shows such as  Top Chef  andHell’s Kitchen and (admittedly one i havent watched) Australia’s Master Chef where we see chefs competing and being judged  for their efforts by a panel of food critics and distinguished chefs. Also in food tv, there has been an increase in general food shows that discuss the joy of either food preparation ie: Heston Blumenthal’s In Search of Perfection or Gordon Ramsays Cookalong or just purely the joy of good food (one of my current faves) Man V Food (I may do an entry purely on this show later if anyone is interested.)

The result of all these great shows is for me twofold.

One, it gives me great ideas to try in my own kitchen. I have always loved cooking, now that I have my big shiny house with its excellent sized kitchen it is even more of a joy. I also especially love being able to present food that looks and tastes fantastic. Getting new ideas for food combinations and also new techniques that I can manage at home is something I  always appreciate, and these shows deliver that in buckets.

The other result, is something I only really came to understand last night, when out with friends, getting particularly bad service and for the most part average or below food. I have always had that “inner critic” which has let me say this is good, or this is bad, but now, I can go beyond that. I can not only express my distaste, I can be more specific. I can state that this meat is overdone, or that there is too much seasoning. With the added experimentation I have been trying from various shows, I can even identify some of the herbs and spices that may be too intense or lacking. My culinary understanding has been increased and along with it, my vocabulary. No longer is it just - I do not like this, or - This is fantastic! - Nowadays when I judge a meal, I can not only give my general feeling, but also the reasoning behind it.

So who says television is not educational.

Its a tv show, give it a break

Published at November 23, 2008 in Television. 0 Comments

So, I am going to briefly touch on a couple of TV shows, which  have upset a few people because they dare to not follow the original tales.

Firstly there is Merlin, a new BBC light drama. It certainly does not take itself very seriously. But its biggest sin, in the eyes of those who accept Arthurian canon as gospel, is that it rearranges aspects of the ancient story, where Merlin starts as Arthurs servant and they grow to be friends, as opposed to Merlin being the ageold wise wizard who takes Arthur under his wing. Guinevere looks like an islander and is the handmaiden to Morgana. Morgana seems to be Uthers ward. Uther is played by Anthony Head who is absolutely perfect for the  role.

Overall, there is not a lot of substance to this show, but it is unpretentious, light hearted and to me at least is thoroughly enjoyable.

The second show that I am going to talk about, is Legend of the Seeker.  I am still uncertain of this show. It certainly shows a lot of promise, but only a couple of episodes in, and it could go either way. You can tell that it is filmed in New Zealand, with there being a large number of Maoris  as extras. This show is an attempt to bring Terry Goodkinds Sword of Truth series to the silver screen. Again, those who expect it to follow exactly the book to the letter are going to be disappointed. From the first episode, you can tell they take that and throw it away. That aside though, it does still seem to be entertaining fantasy television and there is scant enough of that about for me to be able to appreciate it. In my opinion it is being done fairly well, and it will remain to be seen if the script writers can do a decent job, and also whether the public is ready for it.

If you havent read the Terry Goodkind series, definitely give it a go, and if you have, give it a go as well, but remember that its not going to follow exactly the way you want.

Back to Babylon 5

Published at July 29, 2007 in Television and movies. 0 Comments

I must start by stating that when it was on television, I was a massive fan of Babylon 5. The story arc in it was incredibly impressive, and I cannot think of many shows that had such a strong continuity line. J. Michael Straczynski is a true artist and the series was his most impressive canvas. So when I heard last year that he would be doing some straight to DVD releases from the Babylon 5 universe, I was quite looking forward to it.

The series, known as Babylon 5: The Lost Tales has been described by JMS as “”an anthology series, to all intents and purposes, using our characters almost like a repertory group.” Having seen the first in the series now, Voices in the Dark, I would suggest that it is more of an anthology of vignettes from characters in the original series.

The effects quality is, as to be expected, very good. The storyline is alright, though it seemed to me a tad strained. This could be due to the constraints of working with a minimal cast, possibly with concerns towards profitability given the straight to DVD release.

Voices in the dark is essentially two stories told in the same 72 hour period. The stories really do not intertwine and other than an oblique reference made by  Colonel Lochley to President Sheridan, there’d be no link at all to the stories. The first part has Colonel Lochley dealing with a supernatural type incident on Babylon 5, and though at points the acting seems a little strained, it is a interesting story and played for the most part quite well.

The second part follows President Sheridan  on his way from Minbar to Babylon 5, where he is going to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Interstellar Alliance. On his way there, he stops to pick up an ambassador from Centari and also receives a surprise visit from Galen, the technomage, who gives him some instructions that Sheridan does not want to hear.

If you are a fan of Babylon 5, you can almost be guaranteed to enjoy this. If not, it does just drop you right into the universe and expect you to have an idea of who is who, so I would suggest watching it with a friend who can inform you.  The filming is minimalist, with very few cast per an episode, but within those constraints, it is highly enjoyable.

The fact of the fat.

Published at July 26, 2007 in Weight, Television, food, State of the raph and Life. 0 Comments

I just watched a documentary that bought me to the verge of tears. It wasnt an overly sad documentary, but it did really hit home with me. The documentary was called FAT: What No One is Telling You. For those of you out there who havent met me, I am what is described as morbidly obese. I do not make excuses for this, the person responsible for my weight is me. It is my problem, but it is a real and serious problem. It could be easy to look at me and say that I have no discipline, that I just let myself go, and that all I need to do is watch what I eat. How I wish that it was true. My being overweight first started when I hit puberty. Before that, I was as skinny as a stick, but then slowly, a few extra kilos came on. At the age of 16, I went on my first diet. I had already reached my full height of 5 foot 8 inches, and weighed approximately 80 kilo. I lost 6 kilograms over 5 months. 12 months after that, I had put it back on, plus another seven kilo. This was the first bounce back of many that I have had over the years. Everytime I lose the weight, it comes back, and on top of that I gain another 10% or so. Part of me wonders, if I had never dieted, would I now still be 80 kilo, and just a little tubby but happy? Instead, I weigh somewhere around the 150 kilogram mark. I dont know exactly how much I weigh, as standard scales wont give me a reading.

My problem as such is that I have an eating disorder. My one real vice in life is food. If I get stressed, have a bout of depression (yes I have tried antidepressants, they just make me moody, and also make me put on more weight, which in turn makes me even more depressed) I turn to food. I am a tee totaller, I dont smoke, I do not do drugs. In my younger years, I did all of those to excess, yet have given up every single one of them. So I know that I do not lack willpower. Of course, it is easy to stop buying cigarettes, stop buying alcohol, and to stop buying any illicit chemicals, unfortunately cant stop buying food.

Every time I have sought medical help for my weight, I have been called a liar by the doctor. As the first thing they have always told me is that I must give up the alcohol. After I finally convince them that I do not drink alcohol AT ALL, EVER, they then tell me I must stop eating fast food. When I explain that I do not really eat fast food either and that at one stage it had been over two years since I had last eaten at a MacDonalds, they get really annoyed at me and tell me I must be lying to myself. I then explain that my issue isnt so much junk food, but too much normal food. I can, in a single sitting if stressed or depressed, eat more than a regular family of four would. I am not proud of this, in fact just thinking about it makes me incredibly sad. Which in turn, makes me crave food.

My last attempt at weight loss, I lost over 45 kilograms with the help of a strict diet and a personal trainer. I dropped down to just under 100 kilo. It all came back. Part of the problem is that any diet or weight loss regime feels like a punishment. Sure when I am thinner I do feel better, but it still feels like I am in jail or worse. The constant feeling is one of looking for a release. That the punishment will soon be over and then I will be able to reward myself with food.

I dont know what the solution is, but I do know I must do something. Whatever I do, it cannot be a “diet” per se, i will not bounce back again. I have informed all those around me that if I ever get so big as to not be able to leave the house, I do not want anyone bringing me food under any circumstances.

Right now, I am investigating the options of getting a lap band or bioenteric intragastic balloon in order to help me, but a great part of me, like Rocky in that documentary, feels like this could be a cop-out. Maybe it is, I dont know, but then again, it worked for Rocky. I have tried counseling, I have tried self regulation, I have tried medication. I will keep trying, I will not be complacent. I owe that much to myself, my friends and my family. Hopefully with some more research and some effort I will be able to solve my problem.

Heres hoping, and wish me luck.

My Miami Vices.

Published at July 24, 2007 in Television. 0 Comments

I don’t often spruik the entertainment value of television shows. When I do, it tends to be shows that have really caught me. In the past, such shows have included Firefly, Babylon 5, Heroes and the like. But for a change, I now find myself pointing people in the direction of two new shows that dont have a geek edge to them, well, one of them has Bruce Campbell in it so maybe a little geeky. What they do have in common is that they are both based in Miami, Florida. They also both feature an internal monologue of the lead protagonist. This is something that can often be a major failure but in these instances, it is done very very well.

The first show, now about to start its second season is called Dexter. Dexter is a forensics expert specialising in blood spatter. He works for the Miami police, his sister is also an up and coming police officer. Oh and did I mention, he also happens to be a serial killer?

Dexters internal monologues show us how he has learned to follow a code set by his foster father in his killings. He only kills those that he believes deserve it. Series one follows the first in a series of books by Jeff Lindsay called ‘Darkly Dreamin Dexter’ which sees Dexter matching wits with another serial killer who knows how to get inside Dexter’s head. I wont spoil the plotline any further, but it is well worth a watch. The way this series portrays  how a serial killer with no real sense of being human, has learned to interact with the world, is done very well.

I have just managed to catch a pre-air release of the first two episodes of season two. Though these go off-book, which was a worry to many fans, the series writers have managed to keep the same feel as the first season, yet also expand it in ways that are very entertaining. I look forward to seeing the rest of the season when it airs in later in the year.

The next show I am going to talk about is called Burn Notice. Michael Westen, the main protagonist in Burn Notice, is to my thinking the new MacGyver. Burn Notice is the tale of a top level spy, who while on a mission gets a ‘burn notice’ meaning he is burned as far as being a spy, no agency will help him, nor can he get any new work. On top of all that, he is now stuck in Florida with the FBI watching him. The only people he can get to help him are his ex-girlfriend, who also happens to be an IRA agent and a retired buddy (BRUCE CAMPBELL!!!) who in order to save his pension is feeding the FBI information. Oh, Miami also happens to be where Michaels mother lives, so she is always going to be giving him hell.

This show really works well. It strikes the right balance between action, drama and humour to really entertain. Only four episodes in, and I know that I am going to keep wanting more.