Unwrapped

This show makes me hungry. It's supposed to, of course, being that while you may be intrigued about the behind-the-scenes look at secret to Campbell Soup's Chicken Noodle creations or the secret ingredient of Halls cough drops, you're really just being sold a commercial disguised as a television show, courtesy of the Food Network.

Marc Summers, former Nickelodeon gameshow regular, hosts a new type of food program. One that requires no chefs, no cooking instruction, and nothing more than a desire to go to the store (or the town for those local-produced foods) and buy exactly what it is you see in each show (duh! you're watching a half-hour commercial) Its only purpose: to expose something you didn't know about processed foods.

Well.. What can I say about this show. I did in fact watch three consecutive episodes, so it was entertaining. But Marc Summers and his exceedingly corny joke-comments turned me off of a fourth. Don't get me wrong, this is an OK show. What gives it its entertainment value is that you learn man interesting and useless facts about favorite foods in 30 minute increments. Things that I have learned are: How many licks does it really take to get to the center of a tootsie pop? How was ice-cream invented? So, if you have 30 minutes to waste, this isn't bad, but not good either.

The subject matter of "Unwrapped" is interesting, but two aspects of the script are extremely annoying. First, the writers go to absolutely absurd lengths to use alliteration, e.g., "Now the tumbling tubers are toasted and tossed." The first two times it's cute ("Ha, ha, 'tumbling tubers.'") But it has now reached the point where the show suffers because they try too hard to make an alliterative sentence to describe EVERY SINGLE SCENE we see! Enough! The second is the writers' obsessive compulsive insistence on using active voice, e.g., "Next, cheddar and chives add to the mix," as opposed to "Next, cheddar and chives are added to the mix." Yes, I know that they teach you that active voice is stronger and you should use it at all times, but come on! It sounds forced and unnatural when Marc Summers constantly is forced to read these alliterative monstrosities in active voice!

On this evenings 'unwrapped' the background music was more 'upfront' music. I had a problem hearing the narrators comments and the interjection of chimes, sounds, etc added to the inability to understand the explanations. The content is interesting, would have liked to have a web site identified to get individual information of the various items, perhaps purchasing or marketing information for a source of purchase. And tell me why you require 10 lines of comments from the sender when it is possible to state your complaint or compliment in less wordage. my particular comments today could be stated in about 2lines or so but still essentially, I have a problem viewing your program with the intrusive loud background music.

This show is excellent for late nights. Throw this on so you can sit back and relax while watching a show that educates you in an amusing way without hammering you over the head. Marc Summer's quirky but smooth narration is perfect for the content of the show. You know the narration is a perfect fit when you don't get tired of it despite it being present for a significant portion of every episode. To me this is a stress relieving show that always allows to pleasantly zone out without being mindless and still giving interesting information.

I recommend this to anyone who likes shows that mix a little education with entertainment.