Alan Davies' Whites. Hulu. Now.
Should you find yourself in need of a new British comedy fix, hop on over to Hulu and check out Whites, starring Alan Davies, Darren Boyd and Katherine Parkinson. Set in the kitchen of a country house hotel, Whites has Davies playing Chef Roland White, a culinary genius of a chef that, in foodie terms, is several days past his sell-by date. He wants that coveted Michelin star as much as another brilliant chef, Gareth Blackstock, he just doesn’t quite have the motivation to go out and get it. While you get the sense that White could launch into his greatest Blackstock impersonation when a vegetarian won’t eat his carefully crafted dishes, laziness just keeps getting in the way.
Whites is written by Matt King and Oliver Lansley. King, probably known more widely for his acting in the British comedy Peep Show, wrote Whites from his personal restaurant experience. Besides the superb writing, two things that really cause Whites to stand out for me is the mockumentary / hand-held camera look and feel of the series along with the training that the cast went through over the watchful eye of the chefs at Jamie Oliver’s London Fifteen restaurant. While none of the cast will ever make a living in the kitchen, it’s obvious, just as it was in Chef! that the principles do know their way around the kitchen enough to be dangerous.
Check it out. The first episode went up 20 July with the remaining episodes going up each of the following five Wednesdays. Unfortunately, and inexplicably, Whites was not renewed by the BBC for a second season so six episodes is all you are going to get. It was here that I was going to express further dismay over Whites being cancelled and, yet, Two Pints of Lager and a Package of Crisps was entering its’ 10th season but now that that series has been cancelled too by the BBC, things may be looking up.
If, after screening, you think the series deserves a second season, go over the bringbackwhites.com and sign the petition. After that, if you want more Alan Davies, grab a few Jonathan Creek episodes for a little mystery greatness.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnYcrbS-oFM&
