Spain... on the Road Again

I love this show not as a a cooking show. The cooking is a waste and I can't believe that they could put a cookbook out. That said I love the light and beauty of Spain besides where in the world can you go to lovely places and eat a metre long churros and I am not talking about horrible fast-food places.

The cast are likable and it has a pleasant conversational tone to them. The joy of this series is that it is not commercialised and though it is shot on a shoestring is very well photographed. It is interesting that the cast would come and go over the episodes to catch up with their lives. Claudia Bassols is a gorgeous and holds her own against GP (as Mario Batali likes to call her) It shows why Spain is at the forefront of the best restaurants in the world and I want to kidnap Frank Gehry and put him to work transforming the Sydney great locations but crap architecture.

If you like hearing Willie Nelson singing "On the Road Again," you will like this show. That song plays over and over until you want to kill yourself.

The real problem with this series is that it is badly produced. The conversation consists mostly of, "MMMM.. that's good" and other insipid remarks. Only Mario occasionally makes sense. Bittman adds nothing to the proceedings and is an altogether unattractive personality. The women were also worthless.

However, if you like looking at scenery and watching other people eat, this is the show for you. Perhaps better with the sound turned off.

I first heard Mario Batali mention this show during an appearance on Good Morning America and was intrigued (thank goodness GMA keeps me current!) I missed the first episode but was able to catch the second episode and cannot wait for the rest of the series! The country is beautiful, as I knew it would be, the food looks fantastic and so interesting, and the conversation seems to flow so easily and comfortably between everyone on this show. I guess this qualifies as more of a travel show than a reality show, but it seems to be mostly unscripted, to me anyway. There's a bit of history involved, mostly relayed to the others by Mario Batali, and the speaking of Spanish and interjections of everyday phrases make it a great way to brush up on your conversational Spanish. Even if you are not planning a trip to Spain in the near future this is a great one-hour escape of a show which leaves you inspired to cook more lovely meals at home and completely addicted as you wait for future episodes!

Even if your don't like Spain (a place I was never particularly interested in) or the gourmet scene (I cannot stand "foodies") or any of the hosts (I find Gwyneth Paltrow terribly irritating) you will still enjoy "Spain: on the road again". I saw one episode on PBS and knew I had to see the others. I got ahold of the DVD, a beautiful 4-disc set, in the way DVD's should be offered, with none of the double sided or cliplock crap! I've been enjoying it all week. Mario Bitali, whos show I never really watched before, is an extremely intelligent man, and a wonderful host, guiding us through the cultural and culinary delights of Spain. Mark Bittman provides comic relief and other insights. Mario and Mark really must do more series of "on the road again", perhaps with different companions every time?

This show was completely ruined by lack of writing and a terrible chemistry between the four hosts. None of them were worth anything, at least not together. I usually like Mario Batali but he seemed too star-struck trying to impress the two women. The NYT guy was just awful throughout. He had nothing to say and came across mostly as a whiny idiot. The Spanish girl was beautiful, but all she ever did was say "Qué bueno" as she ate something. None of them seemed to mesh with the Spanish people they met along the way; it was as if they were just the hired help for the four stars. In the episode about paella they didn't even make a paella; it was arroz a banda.

Four hosts were just too many, even though they often split into pairs. They should have focused more on the food and less on themselves. Next time get some people who know what they are talking about and leave the vegetarian (Paltrow) at home.