No Reservations

Anthony Bourdain has no reservations. Thank the deity of your choice. To my ears and eyes Tony brings a new standard of excellence to television. Breaking the traditional Travelogue mold, swearing and eating his way across this country and a nation near where you live. Poking fun at all things commercial. Favoring instead local flavors, street foods and strong drink.

In particular watch for his Beirut episode. It is truly disquieting. We get to see a side of television production that isn't often available. Bourdain avoids the the sensationalism of the "News" media. He and his team focus on the reality of being in a place that is rapidly becoming unpredictable.

What I found most telling was Bourdain's precarious position of not being in control. Here is a rugged individual who is relegated to being a refuge. His world is tossed and he just has to go for a ride. We see a man who doesn't quite know what to make of it all - and in showing us this side Tony Bourdain becomes one of the real people. He becomes one of the people he takes such delight in shocking us with in any other setting.

Odds are that Bourdain and the entire 'No Reservations' production team will not get anything more than a passing attaboy - and that is a damned shame 'cause they did really good work. Yeah, they worked their asses off when the going got tough. All the while focusing on people.