The Supersizers...

The Supersizers Go...
The Supersizers Eat...

Title card for "The Supersizers Eat", the additional word (e.g. The Eighties) is added for each individual episode.
Starring Giles Coren,
Sue Perkins,
Cooks:
Sophie Grigson,
Allegra McEvedy,
Mark Hix,
Rosemary Shrager
Narrated by Roy Marsden
Country of origin United Kingdom
No. of series 2
No. of episodes 12
Production
Producer(s) Silver River Productions
Running time 60 Minutes
Release
Original network BBC Two
Original release 20 May 2008

The Supersizers Go... and The Supersizers Eat... are BBC television series about the history of food, mainly in Britain. Both are presented by journalist and restaurant critic Giles Coren and broadcaster and comedian Sue Perkins.

The series originated in a one off edition in April 2007 as part of a season of programmes on the Edwardian period, "Edwardian Supersize Me",[1] a reference to the film Super Size Me by Morgan Spurlock.[2] This programme set the format for the subsequent television series in that Coren and Perkins adopted the persona of a couple living in the Edwardian period and for a week ate the food which people from that period would have eaten.[1] In addition they would take part in the interests and activities of them too, even going so far as adopting the dress and mannerisms of the time, with plenty of sarcastic humor. Before and after the experience they were subject to medical tests to see how the diet affected them.[1]

As of 2 August 2010 the series was being broadcast on the UKTV channel Good Food. The episodes shown on Good Food were cut to 47 minute versions of the original, to accommodate commercial breaks. The series also broadcasts on Yesterday and Watch.

As of January 2012 the show was in the United States on The Cooking Channel, shown with commercial interruptions.

It was also on the Food Network in Canada.

Episodes

The one off programme "Edwardian Supersize Me" was produced as part of the "The Edwardians — the Birth of Now" season on BBC Four.

Title Description Original air date
Edwardian Supersize Me Diet of the Edwardian period, with 5 meals a day, heavy in meat and pudding, which, on one day, sum up to 5,000 calories. With chef Sophie Grigson. 16 April 2007

The Supersizers Go...

Sue Perkins and Giles Coren dressed in Victorian garb.

A series of six episodes was commissioned by the BBC under the title The Supersizers Go... which was broadcast from May 2008 and covered different periods.

Title Description Original air date
The Supersizers Go...Wartime Exploring the diet during World War II when food was subject to rationing. With chef Allegra McEvedy. 20 May 2008
The Supersizers Go...Restoration Exploring the diet of the Restoration period in the 17th century. Aided by chef Allegra McEvedy. Hosted at Ham House. 27 May 2008
The Supersizers Go...Victorian Diet of the Victorians in the late 19th century. Aided by chef Sophie Grigson. 3 June 2008
The Supersizers Go...Seventies Diet of Britons living in the 1970s. Aided by chef Mark Hix. 10 June 2008
The Supersizers Go...Elizabethan Cooked by Paul Merrett, hosted at Sutton House. 17 June 2008
The Supersizers Go...Regency Diet of the Britons in the Regency period of 1789 - 1821. With chef Rosemary Shrager. 24 June 2008

The Supersizers Eat...

Sue Perkins and Giles Coren dressed in stereotypical '80s fashion.

The Supersizers Eat sees Coren and Perkins sample the culinary delights of 1950s Britain, Medieval England, 1980s London and the Roaring Twenties. Marie-Antoinette's Versailles and Ancient Rome also feature, making this the first time that an entire episode was devoted to historical foreign cuisine.[3][4][5]

Coren has said that he and Perkins are reluctant to make a third series ("Sue and I can't just keep sitting at tables, pulling faces and making smart remarks about the food") but that the duo are likely to do further work with each other on the BBC.[3]

Title Description Original air date
The Supersizers Eat...The Eighties In the first episode, Giles and Sue investigate the diet of the country in the 1980s. During the show they try Nouvelle cuisine, Microwave meals, Viennetta, Champagne and Pop-Tarts, along with other typical 80s meals. Guest diners include Jeffrey Archer and Ken Livingstone. 15 June 2009[6][7]
The Supersizers Eat...Medieval Coren and Perkins take the role of a Lord and Lady of the Manor in medieval England. Aided by chef Martin Blunos, hosted at Penshurst Place. Coren thought this period's feast offered the best food of this series, a cockentrice, an imaginary bird made from the front end of a turkey and the back of a piglet, and the worst, very dry peacock meat.[3] They were joined by guest diner Michael Portillo. 22 June 2009[8]
The Supersizers Eat...The French Revolution The Supersizers experience the lives of Marie-Antoinette and King Louis XVI, devour a 5,000-calorie breakfast feast, try the exotic new vegetable craze, the potato, and also observe the advent of the restaurant. 6 July 2009
The Supersizers Eat...The Roaring Twenties Giles enjoys a breakfast of boiled eggs, toast and potted shrimp, whilst Sue makes do with vitamin pills and laxatives as the fad of dieting begins. They then drink cocktails at The Ritz. 13 July 2009
The Supersizers Eat...The Fifties Eating subject to rationing, celebrating the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, American youth culture and a roadside picnic. Guests include Marguerite Patten. 20 July 2009
The Supersizers Eat...Ancient Rome Senator Giles Coren and vestal virgin Sue Perkins travel back to 44BC–80AD for a journey through the early days of Ancient Rome 27 July 2009[9]

Foreign versions

So far the only foreign version of Supersizers is the widely popular Swedish TV show Historieätarna ("The History Eaters"), shown on SVT.[10] Unlike the British show, the show is now running its third season, following Lotta Lundgren and Erik Haag as they live and eat in Swedish time periods from the 16th century to the 1980s. The show also generated a 24-episode Christmas special (or Advent calendar) for children in 2015 called Tusen år till julafton sv (A thousand years to Christmas Eve). Due to legal conflict with Freemantle media and later Sony who ows the legal rights to the series, the Christmas special will not be aired again.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Edwardian Supersize Me". BBC. Retrieved 5 June 2008.
  2. ↑ Roberts, Rachel. "Interview: Sue Perkins and Giles Coren - Gluttons for punishment - The Scotsman". Thescotsman.scotsman.com. Retrieved 2009-06-20.
  3. 1 2 3 Alex Fletcher (2009-06-12). "Giles Coren ('The Supersizers Eat...')". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2009-07-26.
  4. ↑ "Press Office - BBC Two Spring/Summer 2009: Programmes O-S". BBC. Retrieved 2009-04-27.
  5. ↑ "TV Scoop: Coming soon... The Supersizers Eat..., BBC Two". Tvscoop.tv. 2009-04-20. Retrieved 2009-04-27.
  6. ↑ "Press Office - Network TV Programme Information BBC Week 24 Unplaced Week 24". BBC. 2004-02-10. Retrieved 2009-06-04.
  7. ↑ "Two Programmes - The Supersizers Eat..., Episode 1". BBC. Retrieved 2009-06-11.
  8. ↑ "The Supersizers Eat... Medieval - Monday 22 June - Programme Details". Radio Times. Retrieved 2009-06-11.
  9. ↑ "Press Office - Network TV Programme Information BBC Week 29 Monday 20 July 2009". BBC. Retrieved 2009-07-29.
  10. ↑ "Historieätarna". SVT (in Swedish). 2014. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
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