I used to enjoy the show. It focused on not only the business but other aspects such as the friends and family. Now it is all about the restaurants and nothing else. We don't need a one hour commercial. They should be paying the network for the advertising time. Might be time to end it
... View MoreJust watched the first show of season 5 and I have to say it was a disappointment... Watching Mark make his cousin/friend/lackey/trained monkey Johnny Drama go through a humiliating and embarrassing exercise in making (not making) a stupid music video just made me cringe... And then you got the 'no talent hanger on' Nacho thrown into the mix and I almost gagged... It portrays Mark as sort of a sadist to cause these two nobodies as much shame and humiliation as they can take, as long as they get to hitch to his wagon... In earlier episodes we see the ever compliant Nacho down bottles of Hot Sauce on Mark's instructions to prove that this idiot will submit to anything that Mark tells him to do... Maybe it is all in good fun but to me at least it seems in pretty bad taste.The mother, Alma, seems like a nice enough lady, but the constant giggle after everything she says makes me want to change channels real quick, sometimes I wonder WTF is so funny... The show seems to center on son/brother Paul's fast food joint called Wahlburgers, but in the case of this episode we see the restaurant not one time... Other episodes center around the extremely wealthy Wahlbergs trying to create new locations and new sandwiches to market... It seems every time we are watching Mark we are seeing his 15 strong entourage in the background agreeing with everything he says and finding everything he says completely hilarious or the gospel... It just does not transfer well to the middle class folks who work 50 hours a week and then find themselves at odds with the bill collectors.And I actually enjoy most of Mark's films...He seems to be a talented actor who respects his craft... Just seeing this side of him and this family and their lunatic, loyal entourage willing to make themselves look entirely childish on national TV is rather unentertaining... Could I do better ? Probably not, but then again I am not going to try to stretch a stupid joke about who mom likes best into a 100 episode reality show...If I was the producer I would most likely try to emphasize on the running of the restaurant and the hard work the employees do every day to create a pleasant and tasty dining experience... But that would probably last 3 episodes and then drown in apathy...And now we get to watch 'Donnie loves someone or another' and his exploits in TV realism....Reality shows are the essence of bad TV, not real at all, but scripted to make rather above normal people seem eccentric and entertaining in real life. Being told what to say and when and where to say it, and then presenting it as real life is just plain ignorant and demeaning to the millions of people who want to see the 'real' lives of successful people. Now if this is how the Wahlbergs really live and act, well I am truthfully not impressed at all................
... View MoreI just finished season 1 of this reality show off Netflix, which I believe is an A&E original. "Wahlburgers" showcases in reality format similar to what's dramatized on the HBO series, "Entourage". This show, however, mostly focuses on brother Paul Wahlberg, as the head chef and manager of the family restaurant "Wahlburgers" in Boston. Their outspoken mother- Alma I think is her name?- is a big part of the show as well. This family has like 15 kids??!! WTF?? LOL And famous bros Donnie (New Kids On The Block, TV's "Blue Bloods"), and more famous Mark, show up on a regular basis. You'll also see the real "Johnny Drama", as portrayed by Kevin Dillon on "Entourage", and others who inspired characters on that show.Overall, I enjoyed this show- found it amusing and all. Just felt- like with most reality programming- it seemed to be a bit forced, and fake, at times. Now I'd really like to see a show (reality or not) that showcases Mark Wahlberg's criminal past- complete with violence and all..now wouldn't THAT make for much more entertaining/interesting TV viewing-????
... View MoreThere are so many of these fly on the wall documentaries (or reality TV as some like to call it) past and present and to be honest, I have never liked any I have seen previously. This one however, is a breath of fresh air. It isn't in your face. It isn't over the top. In fact, I'd say it is very low key.The key theme of the Wahlburgers is family and pretty much everyone has one in a form or other, so we can relate. For the lucky few of us, some of us have siblings and through our own experiences, we can easily relate to the antics of Donnie & Mark too.This reality TV documentary centres around Alma and Paul. Paul runs the family restaurant business and Alma is the Hostess at Alama Nove. Paul is not only the head chef at Wahlburgers, he is the manager and entrepreneur with the backing of two of his other brothers, Mark & Donnie.Through the series, we see the relationships they all have with each other and as mentioned, Mark & Donnie's antics which generally involve Paul being the brunt end of them.As the series evolves, you become to love and respect this family of nine children who started out as poor as anyone and you laugh along with them and thank them for allowing you to see a small part of their lives. It is truly inspiring and a pleasure to watch.I still cannot believe that Johnny Drama didn't get the role of himself in Entourage! :-) Funny.
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