Bourdain’s final show ventures into his past
In his final episode of “Parts Unknown,” Anthony Bourdain takes what’s billed as a “personal journey” through the Lower East
Side, where he meets up with some of the local color, including hip-hop pioneer Fab 5 Freddy, punk publicist Danny Fields and legendary filmmakers Amos Poe and Jim Jarmusch. The tour begins with Harley Flanagan, formerly of The Stimulators and Cro-mags.
The episode (6 p.m. Sunday on CNN) represents something of a return to the scene of the crime for Bourdain, who once wandered these streets looking for a quick fix.
The memories are wistful, bleak and hilarious. For example, Bourdain does lunch with, umm, Lydia Lunch, the no wave post-punk spoken-word artist and punk musician. He gets mistyeyed about the bad old days in the East Village and her influence over those.
Lydia quickly sets Tony straight : “I’m not a star, not an icon. That might be your midnight fantasy. I wasn’t a catalyst ; I was a cattle prod.”
Then, there’s John Lurie, once of The Lounge Lizards, ultimately a Jarmusch star. While in his apartment, Lurie slyly sizes up his famous guest, then pops a few eggs into a pot of boiling water. “I’ve seen your show,” he deadpans. “You always say everything is ‘delicious.’ I’m just curious to see if, when you eat the hard boiled egg, you say ‘it’s delicious.’ ”
The joy of these encounters — the joy of this whole, bloody final hour — may have been the perfect way to close out this remarkable career. This hour indeed closes with a screech, and fast-cut of a thousand images, to the accompaniment of a rousing cover of Johnny Thunders’ “You Can’t Put Your Arms Around a Memory.” That may be a closing thought for fans too — grieving ones who have tried to process Bourdain’s death over these last few months and last few episodes. They are left with no answers, and this final episode offers none either.
What it does offer, absent narration (Bourdain died before he could write any), is a glimpse at a bygone world he clearly loved and people he esteemed. The marvel of this hour is that so many of them appear to be alive and, well, well. Punk pioneer Richard Hell looks professorial. Deborah Harry and Chris Stein look content, if not exactly gladsome.
Over this hour, Bourdain says almost nothing. But the smile never leaves his face. It’s the best way to remember him.