Friday, April 16, 2010

Jaime Oliver's Food Revolution

The first episode of this show was very promising. What's not to love about a hot guy with a sexy British accent that is passionate about improving the lives of children? I liked the pilot so much I watched it again later with my mom (BTW-she enjoyed it too). But the show has gotten progressively worse with every episode, and now I can't watch it.

I still want to like Food Revolution, but this show has a lot of problems that I can't ignore. I'm most aggravated by the obviously produced resentment Jaime encounters from the locals. Jaime must battle the school board, the lunch ladies, and most of all the local radio DJ in an attempt to get people to be aware of what they are eating. Oh please! I can't even name one local radio DJ, and I would never allow their beliefs to effect my judgement. This show is produced by Ryan Seacrest, a radio DJ, so maybe that's why he's trying to portray the local radio DJ as a relevant voice of the community. The problem is it's not.

Jaime often bumps head with the elementary school's lunch ladies. Even though the kids are tumbling into the cafeteria hungry for their breakfast pizza, we're supposed to believe that these West Virginians are so resistant to change that they would rather their kids die a slow death than heed the warnings of a foreigner. The nay sayers are ofter heard saying "we just don't trust his motives". What's could Jaimie's ulterior motives be? What sinister secret could he possible be plotting that requires healthy kids? I'm insulted that the producers think the viewers are simple enough to believe that manufactured plot.

Also Food Revolution has way to much filler material. The producers come up with the stupidest segments just to fill time. In one episode Jaime created a flash mob that danced and sang about food. What? That is not interesting. It's cony and flash mobs are so played out. Note to all reality shows: When you don't have enough relevant material to fill the time slot, try harder.

Food Revolution tries to push a David vs Goliath sub-plot that has gotten away from them. There are genuine obstacles to improving school lunches; budget, time, and the biggest hurdle of all, kids prefer crappy food. These are the issues the show should focus on. Not can Jaime get 1,000 people to attend free cooking classes when the voice on the radio says don't waste your time?

1 comment:

  1. I love this show but sadly, you are right. It lost its appeal starting with episode two.

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