In 2008, Huntington, West Virginia, was cited in a government survey as being the unhealthiest city in the nation. Enter British chef Jamie Oliver, determined to make a difference here the same way he did in his home country: by instituting a new menu in the city’s schools. This time around, the process is being documented for the purposes of a worthwhile new reality show dubbed Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution (ABC, Fridays, 9pm).
Naturally, an outsider showing up to change the system doesn’t sit well with some of Huntington’s residents, and the local radio host isn’t helping matters by spewing his anti-health food stance on the air. There is resistance from the community and the school, the latter having its hand forced by imperfect USDA guidelines and tight budgetary restrictions. Some of the conflict, though, does come off as a bit manufactured. It’s hard to believe that the cooks who run the kitchen at the elementary school—don’t dare call them lunch ladies—would really be so averse to making kids healthier, even if it means they have to work a little harder. Or that they could deny that the processed food they serve (pizza for breakfast, mashed potatoes that harden like cement) is not good for them.
The kids aren’t necessarily helping the situation, either. They’re less than gung ho about the menu changes; much of the fresh food Oliver prepares is left on their trays. Speaking of which, for a town struggling with a fifty-percent obesity rate, it seems to me that those trays could be much smaller. Even when Oliver is handing out healthy food, it still looks like it’s in too high a quantity, and the fact that much of it ends up in the trash can anyway only makes things worse.
There are times when Oliver feels like a British version of hyperactive Extreme Makeover: Home Edition host Ty Pennington. He pulls stunts such as dressing up like a pea pod or having a year’s worth of fat delivered to the school parking lot. (Thankfully, no one gives him a megaphone.) But you certainly can’t fault his intentions as he comes across the Atlantic with the hopes of making a small ripple in a very big pond. His passion and emotion are clearly evident as he attempts to help a community that seems largely uninterested in helping itself. One of Oliver’s demonstrations perfectly sums up what he’s up against: showing kids how chicken nuggets are made, the tykes are disgusted to learn that it’s the leftover parts of the chicken—bloody bones, skin, fat—that are ground up and shaped into patties. But dressed up with a little batter and deep-fried, they still have absolutely no problem eating them.
Something I’ve been having a hard time swallowing is the current season of 24, an absurd mess whose last episode had me rolling my eyes and laughing out loud countless times. Let’s see, there was Chloe pulling a gun on an NSA agent because no one was listening to her; a rookie CTU field agent who defied orders and ran out into the open during a gunfight to save a wounded comrade, only to end up getting killed himself; Dana strangling a parole officer and hiding him inside a vent at CTU headquarters; and, seconds later, learning that Dana is yet another CTU mole (she must be the eightieth in the show’s history).
Mercifully, Fox announced yesterday after weeks of speculation (including rumors that the show would move to NBC) that this will indeed be 24’s final season. Star Kiefer Sutherland said in the press release, “While the end of the series is bittersweet, we always wanted 24 to finish on a high note, so the decision to make the eighth season our last was one we all agreed upon.” Obviously, he’s been working on a different show than I've been watching, because this hardly constitutes going out on a high note. Unless the back half of this season does a complete about face, this will 24 going out at its absolute worst.
There’s no question that this is one of the most groundbreaking shows of the last decade, changing the way serialized stories are told. It was also instrumental in changing how programmers schedule this type of show, giving way to nonstop, repeat-free airings over a shorter time period. Which is why it’s so sad that 24 has to end on such a creative low. A movie franchise is imminent (a script is already being worked on that would have Jack Bauer battling baddies in Europe), so this definitely is not the last you’ll see of 24. Let’s hope that, in its current form, the writers are able to pull things together just enough to make this season more than the atrocity they’ve weaved so far. After 192 hours, loyal fans deserve at least that much.
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