I think that of the shows being aired this summer, this is the best we've done so far. And it's gonna be hard to top.
What I see in this Thailand show is the best producing, best photography and best editing in a single episode in quite some time . All the things the shooters have been working at--all the new equipment innovations, strategies and tactics--everything we've learned seemed to come to fruition on this one. Add to this mix an editor who saw the footage and understood right away not just what the road team had hoped for and what we'd been inspired by while in Thailand, but the possibilities for some really innovative visual storytelling.

I'm guessing, too, that it'll be a fairly divisive show. But that comes with the territory. When we shoot in a place with as deep and as varied and as powerful a tradition of good cooking like Thailand, it's guaranteed that a very large number of fans (particularly those with Thai backgrounds) are going to feel like we criminally overlooked something absolutely essential.

"How could you go to Bangkok and not eat (fill in blank here)."

I also strongly suspect that Eric Rivera--the last of the finalists from last year's FAN-atic special competition to appear on the show--will come under fire--like Dania, Augusto and Nelson. Making TV with me has, apparently, a significant downside when you're talking about a subject as personal and as deeply felt as food.

Eric got us to re-visit Thailand (though we'd done shows there for the previous series). He introduced us to some really great people, made things happen for us that we otherwise couldn't have seen or done. He worked like a rented mule even when he wasn't in the scene--carrying equipment, acting as grip, helping to hang lights. And most significantly, he knowingly walked into a situation where he knew that he was going to get his ass seriously kicked by a guy half his size--in front of an eventual TV audience of millions of people. And by kicked--I mean literally kicked--repeatedly--like..in the head. In hundred degree heat.
All day long.

Dania, Augusto and Nelson got beat up on the Internet for what they did or didn't do on this show. But they didn't wake up with bruises and swelling the next day like Eric.

Some other heroic efforts I'd like to acknowledge here:
Cameramen Todd Liebler and Zach Zamboni who danced around in that boxing ring for hours and hours in the heat while holding cameras. Who shot in the rain, in mud, literally up to their groins, on leaking, pitching wooden boats in really bad weather. Beset by testicle-seeking monkeys. Best. Camera work. Ever.

Producer Tom Vitale, who snuck out and did some guerilla-style shooting during the height of the state of emergency in Thailand. These were, as you might imagine, moments of extreme uncertainty. Barricades of hijacked buses and trucks on fire, violent confrontations between heavily armed military and protesters. Actual shootings. Assassination attempts. Government ministers being dragged out of their cars and beaten by angry mobs. What looked at the time like it could be a coup, a revolution...or worse. It was a dumb-ass thing to do, go looking for a riot. But brilliantly and heroically dumb-ass. The kind of dumb-ass we like. Plus, he got the shots. I'm sure our local contacts will be unhappy with the fact that we show this aspect of what was going on when we were in their country. They clearly tried their best to keep us away from it. But I dearly hope that what people see on this episode will in no way discourage them from visiting.

There is no place like Thailand. It is one of the greatest of foodie destinations and in marked contrast to the violence of their national sport--and the occasional outbreak of political strife, one of the least dangerous, most gentle and tolerant places I've ever been. Thailand, in my experience, is a country where a visitor can pretty much wander at will without anything resembling a plan, eating everything in sight, relying completely on the kindness of strangers--and only good things will happen.

Back in New York, editor Eric Lasby, got to sink his teeth into some really sweet footage. And did so with relish. I think the work he did on this episode is a ****kin' masterpiece. I love getting happy, confident e-mails from editors early on in post production.

After this blog entry is done, I'm packing my Deet, my jungle boots and my rain poncho and heading for the airport for what I'm told is gonna be a fairly rough few nights in the Panamanian jungle. I'm guessing no mini-bar.