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Honestly, Tourist Sauce and Strapped (each in their own way) are the most Bourdain-esque travel content created by anyone not named Anthony Bourdain.
I understand that itās high praise - and obviously since itās not on TV it doesnāt make the same inroads into the zeitgeist. But, in terms of objectives, content and style itās on that level for me. I feel like DJ has mentioned Bourdain being an inspiration for them and essentially theyāve taken the flag from him in that space.
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Strapped is the closest Iāve seen anything come to No Reservations. Not sure if any of this was intentional, but I feel like both sort of strayed a little from the Bourdain style in recent seasons, but so far, TS:Scandinavia is fully back on that path.
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You ever think sometimes an art form suffers from over-analysis? I think weāre straying into that territory now.
Great premier. I totally enjoyed it. Iāll try not to compare it to everything else, and just enjoy it.
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Agree - being limited to domestic destinations for TS due to COVID seemed to result in some dialing back a little on the Bourdain elements. But, they were still present to an extent (and it makes sense that they may have backed off since they werenāt visiting foreign destinations that viewers would have been less familiar with and that didnāt make them leave their comfort zone).
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Agree, though some of the best Bourdain episodes were made in the USA, they just required the right framing for the destination. The Houston episode of Parts Unknown stands out for me. Then again, Parts Unknown only has 45 minutes per locale - I donāt think even Tony and ZPZ would be able to make 4 compelling hours about Michigan or Oregon without getting somewhat repetitive (though Tonyās Detroit episode was also great!). The scope of Scandinavia plus the relative lack of familiarity for most viewers opens things up quite a bit.
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Each and every season, thereās nothing like watching a incredibly well done Tourist Sauce that closes out the episode by showing footage of the boys just hanging out and having fun doing things together while some heartfelt musical instrumental plays in the background. It inevitably always leads me towards two key thoughtsā¦
- Man, this content really is the best around and speaks directly to my soul
- What on earth am I doing with my life?
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I know this turning into a bourdain discussion. But what really drew me into like no reservations was how they really captured the soul of a destination. Food was the main topic, but wasnāt necessarily the focus. It was the foundation and the local area and culture where the walls and roof. I felt tourist sauce and strapped captured that in a way unlike anything Iād seen since No Reservations. But I felt like around the time of TS:California things started to shift and there was more focus on the golf, and specifically the competition. I think that peaked during COVID (although I think Strapped Peoria did a good job with that balance), so Iām not sure how much COVID affected that and how much was DJ and team trying different things.
Iām not saying any of it was bad or anything. Iām happy they at least appear to be trying new things and trying to expand their craft. Some of it will be amazing to some people and crap to others. I guess thatās just the nature of film making. I just know Iām drawn more into the episodes that have less focus on the golf. Where itās the foundation for the episode, but the extra stuff is all the toppings.
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personally, I could care less about the ācompetitionā
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I care about the competition to the extent the players care about the competition, because it then provides some context for their interactions. If you have ever been on a golf trip with friends, you have been on a golf trip with someone who was not playing well (or you have been that person). How they deal with their struggles can dramatically affect how others enjoy the trip, too.
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I think it the series are better because of it, but it is the least important part of the whole thing. The bragging rights are fun though.
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yes, we have handed out āno whiningā pins to some folks on group trips when there was a competition
yet, I donāt watch TS for the ācompetitionā
didnāt get Playboy for the articles either LOL
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no need to focus on scores when playing courses one time/first time
such a sad american thing
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Think itās a balance here. Trying to career it at a new course is a wild ask. But I think many (including Swedish folks who mentioned in the ep there is no such thing as a gimmie) want to go out and shoot a number.
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If Iām only playing a course once in my life, I absolutely want to keep score and play decently well. Knowing what I shot and remembering the holes that way is part of the fun for me.
If I only get to play, say The Ocean Course, once is my life I damn sure want to know what I shot that day.
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I just chalk that up to Australia, Ireland, and Scotland being more magical places that a lot of us have never seen. Iām not really that into the competition aspect either, but itās better to have that than having shorter episodes because thereās not as much to talk about.
Thats funny - 10 mins in and my wife and I both were curious what the competition would be! To each his own
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I came here to say that the first episode was fantastic. Itās not a golf series. It is an incredibly well done travel series that happens to feature golf. The storytelling, cinematography, the music, the vibeā¦itās all great. Even my wife, who was working in the room while I was watching, looked up and said, āThis is really well done. The shots [meaning video] are fantastic.ā
My favorite show on Netflix is Chefās Table. This episode gives me those kind of vibes.
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