I finally caught an episode of Spain—On the Road Again, the PBS food/travel TV series featuring cookbook authors Mario Batali and Mark Bittman and actresses Gwyneth Paltrow and Claudia Bassols. Unfortunately, it was profoundly irritating.

I've never been a Paltrow fan—she appears to ooze self-satisfaction from every pore—but I was surprised by how obnoxious I found Batali, Bittman, and the show's central premise. If this show is supposed to be a serious production, did these celebrated authors really need the infinitely hotter and younger travel buddies? And if the hotter, younger travel buddies were absolutely necessary, couldn't they include a middle-aged female chef accompanied by a beautiful young man, thereby allowing the objectification to work both ways? (Like, Sara Moulton could travel with Diego Luna. I'd totally watch that.) As it is, I felt like I was watching a midlife crisis packaged as a travelogue.

Labels: Cookbooks