Courtesy: PBS/PBS Distribution
This Tuesday, December 8th, PBS will air a special episode of its hit series A Chef’s Life. In conjunction with the premiere of A Chef’s Life: Holiday Special, the hour-long episode has also been released on DVD. The DVD, released early last month, is a wonderful addition to the series’ run. That is thanks in large part to its overall presentation. It doesn’t stray from its usual presentation here just because it is a holiday special. That will be discussed shortly. It’s just one part of what makes this episode so enjoyable. The episode’s pacing is another positive. Even as the program’s run time is roughly an hour, its pacing is certain to keep audiences engaged from beginning to end. Last but hardly least of note in this episode’s presentation is its bonus material. The bonus material in question is the inclusion of a printable recipe complete with picture of each dish presented in the episode. Each element in its own right makes A Chef’s Life: Holiday Special a wonderful watch for any of the show’s fans. Collectively, they show once again unquestionably why A Chef’s Life is the only reality series on television worth watching today and one of the only cooking shows worth watching. It also shows just as much once more why PBS remains today the last bastion of truly worthwhile programming on television.
A Chef’s Life has proven over the course of the past three seasons to be the only reality series on television today that is worth watching. It has also proven to be one of the only cooking shows on television. The only other cooking shows worth watching are also on television. Though their fate would seem to be up in the air after Chris Kimball’s departure from said shows. Getting back on topic, while A Chef’s Life has proven without a doubt to be such a wonderful program over the course of those three seasons it more than proves it again with its new holiday special, which was released on DVD last month. It shows this mainly through its overall presentation. It would have been easy for all involved to make this episode of A Chef’s Life some overly campy Walton’s style program or something similar. Thankfully that didn’t happen here. Rather, the episode maintained the same presentation as every one of the series’ other episodes. It sees Vivian trying–as always–to balance her family life with heading up things at Chef and the Farmer. This means that yet again there is no sense of pretense at any given point in the episode. And audiences get to see Vivian learning about how given dishes are made through people in her local community. They aren’t celebrity chefs or anything else. they are just average, everyday people. And even they don’t try to be anything other than themselves when they’re on camera. It makes the overall experience all the more enjoyable. On another level, even when Vivian, Ben, and their kids join Ben’s family to celebrate the first night of Hanukkah, the show’s heads don’t let the episode get sappy or schmaltzy. However, audiences do get a very basic lesson on the history of Hanukkah along with Vivian. That is a positive in its own right. Vivian even gets to attend a hog killing in this episode as she learns how to make corned ham. And this sequence really shows the series’ lack of pretense as Vivian sees how the hog is killed, and more. The emotional pain that she exhibits is not just drama played up for the camera. It is very much real. Keeping that in mind, some younger audiences might find this moment disturbing. If it disturbed her (much like when the chickens were killed in another episode), then it will potentially disturb some viewers. Though, Ben’s discussion in relation to seeing it does make some sense. This is a lot to take in. But the central point of everything noted here is that regardless of whether or not audiences are familiar with A Chef’s Life, audiences in whole will be pleased to see that this episode doesn’t stray from the series. It presents A Chef’s Life just as the rest of the series does so. It’s just one way in which A Chef’s Life: Holiday Special proves itself a wonderful watch for any viewer.
The overall presentation of A Chef’s Life: Holiday Special lies at the core of the episode’s enjoyment. It presents A Chef’s Life exactly as audiences have come to know the series in each of its three current seasons. By the way, Season Four is tentatively due to debut early in 2016 from current knowledge. It is just one way in which this special episode of A Chef’s Life shows itself to be such an enjoyable episode. The episode’s pacing is just as important to the episode’s whole as the episode’s presentation. The episode’s run time is roughly an hour give or take a few minutes for credits. Over the course of that time, the episode’s pacing remains so solid that viewers won’t even realize that so much time has passed. That is a real testament in its own right to the show and those behind the lens. The transitions are natural from one scene to the next and the frantic energy that Vivian must have felt translates so well on screen. Both elements play their own important part in the success of the episode’s pacing. The work of the show’s editors plays just as much of a role in that success. The end result is an episode that will keep audiences engaged and entertained from beginning to end. The fact that the episode doesn’t stray from the show’s already established format doesn’t hurt either. Both elements considered, they give audiences plenty of reason to order it now that it is available on DVD.
The overall presentation of A Chef’s Life: Holiday Special and its pacing are both key elements to the episode’s enjoyment. The presentation doesn’t stray from the show’s familiar format. And the pacing will ensure event more that audiences remain entertained and engaged from beginning to end. There is no denying that either element plays its own important part to the presentation of this episode in its new DVD release. They are however, only a portion of what makes this episode so enjoyable. The bonus material that is included in the DVD’s presentation is just as important to the DVD’s presentation as the episode in all of its facets. The bonus material in question is the inclusion of recipes for each of the dishes featured in the episode. For that might not have already seen the episode, the featured dishes are: Red Velvet Cake, Hoppin’ John, Ambrosia, and corned ham. The recipes are presented as .PDF files that can be accessed via a DVD rom. They can even be printed out for audiences’ own personal cookbooks. It’s even more reason why programs on DVD/Blu-ray will always have their own place in home entertainment versus streaming programs. But that is a discussion for another time. That final element coupled with the episode’s overall presentation and its pacing results in an episode that will have a special place in any viewer’s home this holiday season and every holiday season to come. Together, they show unquestionably why A Chef’s Life is one of television’s elite programs and why PBS in whole remains today the last bastion of truly worthwhile programming on television.
A Chef’s Life: Holiday Special is a fittingly titled episode of PBS’ hit reality.coking series. That is because in examining each of its elements in its new DVD release, it proves to be a truly special presentation. Its presentation shows that it doesn’t stray in the least from the series’ familiar format in its other episodes. The pacing of the program over its roughly hour-long run time will keep viewers entertained and engaged from beginning to end. That is thanks in large part to the scene transitions and overall editing of the episode. The bonus printable recipes included on the episode’s DVD alow audiences to try their hand at making the dishes featured in the episode for themselves. Each noted element plays its own important part in the whole of A Chef’s Life: Holiday Special. Altogether, they make A Chef’s Life: Holiday Special a truly special episode of PBS’ hit reality/cooking series and show unquestionably why this series is one of television’s elite programs. In turn, they show once more why PBS remains today the last bastion of truly worthwhile programming on television. A Chef’s Life: Holiday Special is available now on DVD. It can be ordered online direct via PBS’ online store at http://www.shoppbs.org/product/index.jsp?productId=54994086&cp=&sr=1&kw=a+chefs+life+holiday+special&origkw=A+Chef%27s+Life+Holiday+Special&parentPage=search. More information on this episode of A Chef’s Life is available online along with all of the latest news from the show at:
Website: http://www.achefslifeseries.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AChefsLife
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