greatsg
Gourmet Academy Recruit
Posts: 18
|
Post by greatsg on Apr 22, 2011 1:53:32 GMT -5
Hi there, I'm new here, but after posting a comment on the Best Episodes post on Iron Chef Fans I was pointed to come over here. So I figured, I'd just introduce myself and get right down to business. I loved Iron Chef when it was on Food Network back in the early 2000s when I first discovered the show, but about two months ago I rediscovered my love for the show and having stumbled upon and lurking the ICFans videobase have really sparked my enjoyment for all things Iron Chef related. Now, onto my main thing for this post, I attend and run panel events for a convention called Animazement in Raleigh, NC; the convention is a Japanese Anime and Cultural Convention that is celebrating it's 14th year (and I'll be attending my 10th!) and while the Anime and Manga aspect is their main focus, they use it as a guide to promote all aspects of Japanese Popular Culture. I've been hosting a number of events there for years (generally events focusing on Japanese pop and rock music) and I've decided to take the steps to hosting a fan panel to spread the joy that is Iron Chef! At the moment the event is still pending convention approval (although some of the convention staff already love the idea of the panel ) but I'm pretty sure it'll be happening; so now I have just barely a month to try and organize an informative presentation on the series. My hope is that this panel hosted here (and hopefully at other conventions I attend namely Otakon in Baltimore and Dragon*con in Atlanta) will help renew some love in the show and the fandom. As for my panel, I've been watching as many episodes of the show that I can (I've just finished with all the available season 2 episodes) and working my way through notable battles that I remembered from years ago and ones mentioned in the Best Episodes comments. Still, I want to make sure I get the most accurate information and present it in the best way possible. Wikipedia has helped fill in a few areas, but I know some of the content's accuracy is a bit questionable just like the fan book that was released (which I sadly do not have) so I want to make sure I can get what facts I can right. My format I'm using will be a powerpoint presentation filled with photos and I'll be using videoclips from the series throughout as well. I plan to introduce what the show by using the Food Network intro and the show's actual intro. Moving into some information on the history of the series, the format of the show and battles, and also mention some of the more interesting ingredients used as well as variations to the standard battles. Next will be information on all of the Iron Chefs with their own slide (and if I can the introduction given to each Chef when they are chosen to battle) as well as information on the various crew of the show like Hattori, Fukui, Ota, and of course Kaga himself. From there I think I'll mention about some of the more famous challengers featured on the series (Kandagawa has to be mentioned! XD) as well as some of the more recognized and famous judges seen on the show as well. From there I'll probably list recommended episodes to see and show highlights from them as well if time permits. As soon as I get some better work laid out on the presentation, I'll provide it here for you all to take a look at. The things I'm trying to find out for sure is the exact time period Food Network started showing the series. I know they dubbed the Morimoto episodes first, but I have no clue how soon after the original Japanese airings this started; also I'm curious on just when the show switched from the 30 minute episode format I hear mentioned on various places. Of course, I'll be making sure to thank all of you here and on ICFans for not only inspiring me to do this panel but for providing such a great database of information on the series. They'll definitely be a big acknowledgement during my panel! Thanks again for any and all help, comments, and advice to insure this goes off well for me.
|
|
|
Post by ironnut77 on Apr 22, 2011 8:59:14 GMT -5
Do I get a finder's fee for referring you to these forums? ;D
Glad to have you greatsg! Welcome to what remains of a once proud community of Iron Chef fans! I myself just recently re-discovered my love for the show as well, and am currently watching (in my spare time) the episodes in order of original Japanese broadcast, based on what is available at the database and in my collection. I just finished the last 1994 battle (Battle Strawberry - a yummy one if you like deserts!) and am crossing into 1995. I am currently cursing Food Network again for not releasing the 1994 Mr. Iron Chef Tournament LOL! ;D If you have never watched the battles this way, it makes for quite the experience. Start with 1993's Battle Chicken (the earliest in the canon shown on Food Network) and go from there!
But I digress - I am thrilled that we have someone like you to join our ranks. We are always pleased to welcome fans of the show that are willing to apply such dedication as you are to your project. Though these boards may be quiet at times (I was shocked when I came back after a long hiatus to find them still up and running!), I encourage you to stay tuned in, and post when you feel the need. I am very hopeful that you can spark some new interest in this show in your presentation, and look forward to seeing how that goes!
A bit about us - we are (to repeat) what remains of a once thriving Iron Chef fan community. Most of us hail from the now defunct "Ironfans Online" site that was big until it nuts down in the late 2000s. I personally have been following the show since the turn of the century, and can never get enough information about it! As a result, I am (if I may be so humble) a wealth of information when it comes to the show. Some answers to your inquiries:
|
|
|
Post by ironnut77 on Apr 22, 2011 9:11:20 GMT -5
OOPS (accidentally enabled "reply" from the keyboard) - anyway...your inquiries... 1) The original Iron Chef (known as "Ryori no Tetsujin," or "Iron Men of Cooking" in Japan) ran from October 1993 - September/October 1999. A few specials were broadcast up until 2002, and thereafter Fuji Television (the producers of the show) ceased production after the new "plot arc" that they introduced with the last special received poor feedback. We can elaborate on that later... 2) Iron Chef in America was first seen in the late 90's on the west coast, in California broadcast market (where many native Japanese reside), while the latter seasons of the show were still running. The show in that market was shown in subtitled format and many of these episodes did not get dubbed for Food Network. Fortunately, or friend Tuthead has obtained quite a few of these for his database 3) I do not know exactly when (I think it was in 2000, when they showed the New York Battle Special in America), but Food Network purchased their first bundle of episodes from Fuji and dubbed them. These were from the Iron Chef Morimoto era of battles, starting in February 1998. Food network released clumps of episodes stemming from that date until the conclusion of the show in 1999 with the King of Iron Chefs Tournament. They followed soon after with a run of episodes starting with Battle Bamboo Shoot in 1994, through the end of the Michiba era in January 1996. Occasionally a show was shown out of order, like the France Special from 1996 or Battle Chicken from 1993. The last batch of battles released were a handful of battles from the eraly months of Iron Chef Nakamura's tenure on the show (spring 1996). After that, Iron Chef America was in full swing and Food Network made the decision to promote this more "accessible" format to the masses...much to the chagrin of our community (many of us respect Iron Chef America, but agree that it doesn't come close to emulating the original masterpiece). 4) When exactly the show switched from a 30-minute broadcast to the 60-minute format is somewhat of a mystery to us. Most sources have us believing that the show went to 1 hour starting with Battle Bamboo Shoot in April 1994, but some sources state that they started with the first 1994 battle. Generally, the first theory is widely accepted as true, and it makes sense as Food Network did not show any battles prior to Bamboo Shoot except Battle Chicken...and that one dragged due to the re-edited format when they stretched it from 30 minutes to 1 hour. I would be happy to answer personally any questions you may have. Feel free to post on here or PM me. I would be happy to contribute to your project - I live in Baltimore and have even been to Otakon once in its early days! Again - glad to have you on board - and don't be a stranger! Iron Chef will NEVER die so long as we maintain the faith!
|
|
greatsg
Gourmet Academy Recruit
Posts: 18
|
Post by greatsg on Apr 22, 2011 13:44:53 GMT -5
I first started grabbing some random episodes from the database but in March I started watching them in order as best as I could because I agree with what you said, it seems more fun that way (although I do hate the missing chunks of episodes, I really want to see Kandagawa in the 1994 tournament :<)
I learned about the show being popular in the Bay Area in the 90s when I randomly downloaded the Rory Kennedy two-parter (a really good match if I do say so) and saw that it was recorded from local San Francisco TV. According to a good friend of mine who lives over there, the channel showing it there was most likely The International Channel; she was also humored by a very silly Japanese car dealership ad for a place in the town she still lives in as well. XD
I can't remember when I first started seeing the show, but it had to have been around 2000-2001 because I know I was a freshmen in high school still and watched it throughout until I graduated.
One thing I'm trying to remember is that Food Network once held a Saturday marathon of the some of the Iron Chef's big defeats. The only battle I can remember from it was the the Lobster battle with Ron Siegal and I was shocked to see that Sakai lost. I know one of the other episodes ended with poor Chen crying from his defeat, but I can't remember what other episodes were shown. I just remember that being a very interesting marathon to see overall.
Also, just another fun thing I remembered, back when I first started going to Animazement (where I plan to host the panel) they had an event there ran by the anime club out of UNC-Chapel Hill called 'Dormitory Iron Chef' which was a wonderfully silly parody of the series where they set up a mock battle and used cooking ingredients that were on the budget of a college student. They even went as far as to do a very well done recreation of the Iron Chef opening complete with a video introduction to the challenger and their 'Dormitory Chairman' taking a bite out of a Krispie Kreme donut instead of a Bellpepper. XD
As for the actual competition, apparently they retired the event because they could no longer find anyone willing to eat the horrifying food dishes the Chef and challengers made. The guy who ran the event is still a staff member of the convention, I'm going to try and see if I can get a hold of that footage if I can. Also, there is a possibility they might have some episodes of the actual series missing from the database (I know while they were seating the event they were playing a subtitled episode of an actual match, but I can't remember a thing about it)
|
|
|
Post by Man Alive! on Apr 25, 2011 19:56:58 GMT -5
Welcome to the boards, greatsg!
I wish I could offer you more information, but ironnut77 has already provided you with more thorough answers to your questions than I ever could! I don't think you could find better answers to your inquiries in the entire fan community! Unfortunately, there are some details about ICJ that have and always will be murky in the Western world. We'll do our best to help you out, though! I certainly wish you the best of luck for your panel! You'll have to keep us updated on your progress and let us know how the final event turns out.
|
|
greatsg
Gourmet Academy Recruit
Posts: 18
|
Post by greatsg on Apr 26, 2011 14:18:14 GMT -5
Thanks for the welcome, I'm glad to find such a friendly community. I watched the New York Special Battle a few days ago and according to it's intro at the time Iron Chef had been broadcast on Food Network over a year at that point and I also noticed in a lot of episodes a copyright date of 1998 at the end of the credits. So I'm going to assume that most likely the show started airing on Food Network at that period. Another thing I'm trying to locate are some good publicity shots of the chefs and crew from the series to use in the presentation. I found some nice high res images of Sakai and Chen and decent ones of both Michiba, Morimoto, and a few group shots with Kaga but I'd like to track down some of the other Chefs too (although I know this will be hard in both Ishinabe and Nakamura's case) but even my limited skills with Japanese have had a hard time turning up one for Kobe from the show. If worst comes to worst I'll just get screen shots from some higher quality episodes to use.
|
|
|
Post by ironnut77 on Apr 26, 2011 16:25:30 GMT -5
The copyright of 1998 may be when they started dubbing the episodes for American television...I did not even have constant access to cable TV at that time so I can't say for sure if the show was on Food Network during the period. This would mean that the shows on that channel would be relatively "new" shows, since Food Network started with the Morimoto era of battles. But like I said, I am not one to argue.
|
|
greatsg
Gourmet Academy Recruit
Posts: 18
|
Post by greatsg on May 6, 2011 1:50:17 GMT -5
Good news! I've finally got my official confirmation for the panel and it is on! Hopefully with the panel being on the last day of the con Sunday afternoon won't cause my audience to be too small, but hopefully I can make a creative enough flier to advertise the panel to interest people! The powerpoint presentation I'm making is coming along nicely so far, but I definitely have a lot of work to do. I also have two hours to fill, so I plan to make use of some great highlights throughout the show for that, so I have to ask what moments are considered some of the most memorable and what episodes definitely need mention for people to check out a well? Are there any fun facts about the IC Chefs and memorable challengers I should make sure to mention? Anything anyone can think of is greatly appreciated!
|
|
|
Post by herringchoker on May 6, 2011 13:31:45 GMT -5
Great news! ;D
|
|
greatsg
Gourmet Academy Recruit
Posts: 18
|
Post by greatsg on May 20, 2011 4:28:15 GMT -5
Hey there, just wanted to let everyone know that I am working like crazy (well, like crazy inbetween sleeping and having to do a lot errands for family members heavily) on getting my Iron Chef presentation and video highlights edited together for my panel next week! It's getting down to the wire, and I have five other events I'm running at Animazement as well, but I'm determined to get everything done as best as I can! @___@ Still, the Iron Chef powerpoint I've put together is coming along nicely, I just have a handful of slides to finish up and it's ready to go! Editing all these clips though is a whole other monster, it's hard to edit down great bits from various episodes, but I think what I have will interests my audience for sure! I'm also hoping to get someone to record the panel, that way I can hopefully share some footage of it here. To tide things over, here's my flier I put together to pass around the convention and generate some interest.
|
|
|
Post by okonomiyagi on May 20, 2011 9:25:01 GMT -5
That has to be the best poster for anything I've ever seen. Ever.
I laughed at "Bring your own bell peppers."
|
|
|
Post by herringchoker on May 20, 2011 13:44:38 GMT -5
I agree, that is a very handsome poster
|
|
|
Post by Man Alive! on May 21, 2011 0:41:58 GMT -5
Great poster, greatsg! I know I'd be excited if I saw that at a convention!
|
|
greatsg
Gourmet Academy Recruit
Posts: 18
|
Post by greatsg on May 29, 2011 23:54:41 GMT -5
Just wanted to say that today's panel was a HUGE SUCCESS! I had a nearly packed room this afternoon and the audience really loved the clips I showed as well as my top 10 episodes countdown I did. I also was fortunate enough to have a friend in video production work film the event and we'll hopefully be getting that edited together soon and put online for you all to enjoy! Also, talked with a staffer of the con who I mentioned about the missing episodes to and he's told me he'll try and check through COUP (the anime club at UNC-Chapel Hill) and see if they have any missing episodes in their old archives of the series as well! I must say, I did not expect the attendance I got for the panel, but it was a roaring success and the convention staff have told me they want it back next year!
|
|
|
Post by herringchoker on May 30, 2011 7:13:35 GMT -5
Cool!!! Way to go!!! ;D
|
|