Farm Kings Season 4 episode 1

Quick side note before I delve into what I thought about last nights Farm Kings episode.  I turned the TV on after I put Princess Bear (PB) down after the Farm Kings episode was over & GAC was still on.  It shows a pond in...Farmington Illinois.  Basically 15 minutes from here.  Small world.  I'd never seen Lake Life before so I watched a bit.  The company is based in here Peoria.  Even smaller world.  I was at a charity Polo event today and one of the Herman brothers from Lake Life was there.  Way small world. 

OK so now for my breakdown on the Farm Kings episode.  Of course the biggest issue in this episode was will Dan work for Freedom Farms or with Tom the contractor.  As we were watching the episode I was actually getting a bit annoyed about all the hype on whether Dan would stay with the Farm or not.  Past practice has shown that Dan always lets guilt get to him and he sticks by the family.  It's not always a bad thing but it was pretty bogus when Lisa called him home from his internship with Joel Salatin after the break in.   So I'm watching last night thinking "Of course Dan is going to take Joe up on his offer".  Dude- so wrong!  Obviously Dan decided to reach down and grab a pair!  Go Dan!  Now I'm not saying that family loyalty is a bad thing and in all actuality I think he'll go back to Freedom Farms but for now Dan is taking care of himself and his needs and that isn't necessarily a bad thing.  I think the 3 partners love the fact that Dan is a freaking workhorse for them but they have showed no interest in making him a partner or giving him any real say.  In their own way they've done a grand job of belittling Dan.  So there's a side of me that says "WooHoo!  Way to go for standing up for yourself and want your interests are". There is also the side of me that thinks its a pity that the partners couldn't make Dan feel valued enough to make their offer worthwhile to Dan. 

Joe having his little chart with the squares, several of which were blank, was an idea that is half cooked.  It's a great premise he just needs to work on it.  Joe, Pete & Tim also need to figure out what they're going to do for their family that makes it worth their while to stick with Freedom Farms in these lean beginning years.  The idea that one day things will be peachy keen isn't going to pay anyone's bills or give them warm fuzzies for any amount of time.  They need to come up with a plan that entices the siblings to work and in turn gives them a reason to stick around.  Also Joe trying to make a point of saying that they've invested in Dan was a load of b.s. What exactly did they invest in Dan?  He was already a farmer by birth so what exactly did they invest in him?  If Dan hadn't worked for Freedom Farms they would have actually had to spend the time which of course equals money to train someone else. 

I was a bit surprised that Bitty is once again the manager of the Donut shop since that didn't work out well for her the last time she did it.  I loved her idea of a donut cake.  Very clever. 

Once again Lisa decided that Mama Bear knows best and was going to have donuts at the sandwich shop even if it meant paying for them herself.  On on hand I give her props for doing whatever to make her customers happy even it there is a bit of a financial loss for her.  On the other hand it's a case of Lisa one more time being heavy handed and doing what she wants no matter what decisions have already been made.  On the plus side of the board I do give Lisa points for making it perfectly aware to her children that she expected them to support Dan in his job decision.   Bravo Lisa!

The part about Ben wanting to be a farmer was very heartwarming.  The family really does do a wonderful job of playing to Ben's strengths while still trying to introduce him to new things.  I think it's a beautiful commentary that Ben wants to be just like his big brothers.

Now on the technical side.  Yes there is still a narrator.  Yes this one is slightly better and I don't want to tear my hair out when I hear the commentary.  I still maintain that the narrator isn't necessary. 

So there you have it.  My take on this weeks episode.  What did you think?

King Weddings

The hand is still in a cast & I really hate doing the one handed pecking thing so not much blogging lately. I did wake up to am email asking me if I was aware Bitty had been married over the weekend (I was!).  I was  also sent a source for pics of Tim & Maggie's wedding. Also lets not forget to share Joe's February wedding.  So here is a slideshow to hold over the Farm Kings fans. As always big thanks to those who sent in pics!

This digital slideshow made with Smilebox

They're back!!!! (soon!)

As a wonderful reader gave me heads up last night the Farm Kings are coming back!!!  Season 3 starts on December 19th!  What a wonderful reason to sit down and relax for a bit in the middle of Christmas craziness!!!!   I think since this is an odd time that it will most likely show the Farm Festival again and perhaps a wedding (or two?).  I wonder if Maggie dearest will make an appearance once she's Mrs. Timothy King.  The big day is less than a week away now!  I also think they'll do a two part season like they did with season 2.  I wish that they would do more episodes.  There is so much more ground that they could cover and by all accounts things are heating up with the Kings.  Tim getting married this Saturday and Bitty and Joe are both engaged now.  I wonder how long Jessi will be content to be just committed to Pete since they all seem to be heading down the aisle now.  I also don't think Tim & Maggie will wait long to add to their little family.  Anyone want to start a pool on that one?  My vote is that they'll be celebrating their first anniversary with an infant in tow.

SO, GAC or Stage 3 whoever is in charge WHEN ARE SEASON 1 & 2 GOING TO BE RELEASED ON DVD?????

Just a bit of eye candy but take a look... a few Kings are missing.

Farm Kings Season 2 episdode 12?

Ok- is that right or did I somehow mess up the episode count? Ugh! Who knows! This episode was basically covering the Farm to Table Dinner and Pete's frustration with Lisa asking too much of him. The dinner had to be cancelled on it's originally planned date due to weather. It was interesting to see how different brothers looked at the situation differently. I understand (and pretty much side with) Joe and his decision to cancel the event. Thankfully it could be scheduled for the next night and there wouldn't be a big monetary loss. Of course some people wouldn't be able to make the next night and would have to be offered a refund but that's a pretty insignificant cost for keeping people safe. I also was somewhat liking Tim's idea of holding the event under a tent and weather be damned. Unfortunately storms are unpredictable and best not to be responsible for 100 people's lives while hanging out in a storm. The day the event did finally happen seemed to be a huge cluster f*&k. It was great that Tim set up tables and chairs. Thankfully he was thinking ahead and taking care of some of the needed choirs to get the event off the ground. It once again seemed like Joe threw something together by the seat of his pants and was wishing for the best. It was clear that there was no clear idea of who had what responsibility and that things were not ready in any way, shape or form when people started arriving. Joe's excuse of planning it for 15 minutes after the markets closed just is bad management. How can you throw something like that together in 15 minutes and where is the time to take care of any unforeseen complications? The whole thing with Pete feeling frustrated by Lisa's demands was funny and sad at the same time. Why is it that Lisa has to be the one that works the hardest and does more than anyone else? She's one hell of a lady that has raised a great family so why does she always need to look for the validation of how much she's doing and how good she is? I was totally cracking up when Pete went to her house to talk to her and share his frustrations with her and she then asks him to dig up a couple of trees for her. Seriously Lisa???? Did you not just hear the words that were coming out of your sons mouth??!!!?? It's obvious that Lisa is spread thin as everyone else and needs more help. She almost needs Bitty at the gardens and then someone else that is her help alone at the home market. There was also an issue of the baler breaking down. Man I know those boys deal with equipment on a regular basis but they seem to have some bad luck with things breaking down when they really need them. Again Tim was the responsible one always making sure the younger boys were away of potential dangers. The next episode is the season finale. It appears that it's going to be a dozy covering the sale of their fathers farm. Hopefully they tie up the loose ends that are floating around and GAC will announce season 3 soon!

Farm Kings Season 2 episodes 8, 9, 10 & 11

I thought about breaking this up and doing 2 posts but I really don't want to be lagging behind anymore.  SOOOOO here we go! 

Episode 8
This was centered on getting irrigation for the animals set up so Pete could quite hauling water all over and Lisa coming up with menu's for the Farm Market.  As Pete said the hauling the water did make his arms look great and he couldn't have been more spot on!   That said it had to really suck doing all that manual labor in addition to everything else he had to do.  Joe took charge and was very active in getting the water system set up.  For one second when they went to test it on top of that hill I didn't think it was going to work.  Thankfully it was all systems go! 

Lisa was tasked with coming up with a menu for the Home Market.  It makes perfect sense that they have her running a food operation there.  From all accounts Miss Lisa can cook and does it well.  The problem is that Lisa always wants to do what she wants to do end of story.  Having a design your own panini or smoothie is great for a place that is slow.  For the Kings sakes I hope that isn't the situation for the Home Market.  There really hasn't been anything on any of the following episodes showing the Farm Market cafe so not too sure what happy medium was  agreed upon. 

There was also Sam trying to plant with Paul & Johns help.  You had to feel bad for the guy.  It can't be easy going into a position of authority of your siblings.  Also was I the only one who wanted to bi$ch slap Betsy the marketing girl when she was suck a little biotch about Sam saying they didn't have time to answer her questions?  Rude girl!

The highlight was watching Sam get ready for prom and seeing the Joe, Bitty, Tim, Pete & Dan's prom pics.  

Episode 9
In this episode Dan is switched from the home market to the Farmers Markets to help make things a bit easier for Pete.  Of course the show left it as a cliff hanger and made it seem as though Dan was in some sort of trouble.  Not the case at all.  Actually it seems like Dan is going to do a smashing job at the Farm Markets.  On the way to the Farmers Market the truck breaks down.  Big bummer when you think about the loss of income.  They aren't at the market selling as long as he's stuck on the road and then there will be a repair cost on top of it.  Dan tried everything he could do get the truck running again to no avail.  I felt so bad for him when the police showed up on the scene.  Once they got to the market he did a great job selling. 

As always Lisa is up to her old tricks trying to sneak things by her sons any way she can.  It's comical but kind of sad at the same time.  While I completely understand that its easier to apologize than ask permission it has to get old.  The first thing is when she takes Lily outside the Home Market to plant some flowers in the raised beds there.  In this cases I COMPLETELY agree with Lisa on all fronts.  Flowers should be planted there not veggies.  It is a visually pleasing aspect that might gain some costumers.  She's absolutely right about that.  She isn't right in using Lily as a means to an end.  What is that going to teach Lily?  SO, in the future Tim should just let her go completely flower crazy and that should be the end of it.  There was also the whole thing about Lisa needing shelves for the home market.  Now the fact that Joe is evidently a bit tight with money as to be a problem.  Lisa waiting to ask permission to buy something until he isn't paying attention because he's on the phone isn't the most honest way of going about it.  It was a complete riot watching Lisa & Bitty going shopping.  I wouldn't want to be the person to have to keep Lisa on task on an excursion like that!  It was nice that after worrying the boys that they wound up finding a free set of shelves on the side of the road.  Gotta love successful junking!   

It was nice to see the family "relaxing" playing volleyball at the end of the show.  As always they are competitive but enjoy there family time together. 

Also for anyone keeping track on this episode Pete's girlfriend helped out at the beginning and Dan's girlfriend helped out at the Farmers Market.  So ladies they're dropping like flies!   

Episode 10
This show mostly was covering the home market opening and an event that was a collaboration between Miss Pennsylvania and Special Olympics.  I loved this episode for so many reasons.  As a mom to a special needs child who would love to participate in a pageant it was awesome to see this girls giving of themselves and spending time with the special needs girls.  I think there is a preconceived notion for girls that participate in pageants and this was a wonderful way to disprove that point. 

As always Lisa wants to do what she wants and things milking would be a great activity.  Joe just sees the insurance nightmare factor and really who can blame him?  So the cow shows up and Joe sends it on its way.  The younger boys had a great time being surrounding by a lot of pretty girls.  The event seemed to be successful and kudos to the King family for again embracing Special Olympics and the special needs population!

Episode 11
OK-  who was cringing whenever Dan sat on one of those dang bulls???!!!???   Also who was kind of surprised to hear about Joe trying it when he was younger?  He just doesn't seem like the rough and tough type.  Also why do they guys have to give Dan about a hard time about wanting to do what they'd tried when they were younger?   He should have probably waited until winter but part of youth is being impulsive, right?  I'm just glad that he didn't get hurt worse than he did. 

Again Lisa decides that she's going to do something without any go ahead.  On the surface you'd think that she really didn't need to get permission to take on a cookbook project but Joe shows without a doubt why it was necessary.  Also as anyone who has been watching the show knows Lisa doesn't follow recipes and she doesn't use measurements per se.  She does it by sight.  I about lost it when she suggested enclosing little baggies with what a "pinch" or a "handful" is to her with every cookbook  SERIOUSLY?????  Bitty had it right when she just tried measuring everything.  Again another job that I wouldn't want to keep Lisa on task with! 

SO- short but sweet recaps since I was so behind.  I'll try to do it better so when life (or my daughter) throw me a curve ball it will won't be such a mess to catch up. 

Farm Kings Season 2 Episode 7

OK before I recap this episode is there really only going to be 13 episodes this season? Any word on season 1 going to DVD? I have 18 hours of Farm Kings on the DVR and I can't delete any lest I deal with a melt down from my daughter. She goes through phases where she likes to watch different episodes over and over and over again. Her two favorites are the family ski vacation and the fall festival. I do believe I have created a little monster! This week’s episode kind of turned the tables a bit on who you were inclined to feel a bit of empathy for I think. I definitely felt bad for Lisa and the lack of help she received. I also felt bad for Joe when Tim kind of one upped him by having water delivered for the pond. I'm ahead of myself here though. The episode started with the younger boys helping Tim put up some green houses. It definitely makes sense for them to employ as many greenhouses as possible but I surely wouldn't want to be the one putting them up! The show shared the frustration of the boys tackling a fairly new task. They are beyond capable but there is a learning curve to everything, right? Then Lisa showed up none too happy because all of the boys were working for Tim. Tim also addressed the fact that farmers have big families because there is so much work that needs to be done. The more hands on deck the easier it is. I suppose in theory I understand this but nothing like knowing that you're very existence is to be a farm hand. That said I also understand when Lisa says that the younger boys kind of "owe" her. As a mom there are times I expect Princess Bear (PB) to do something for no other reason than I'm her mother and I need her to do it. Paying your dues is the term I believe. I also loved it when Tim promised his mother and said that he is a man of his word. I think in this day and age that is a very honorable trait to be sure. A lot of the episode centered on Joe and Pete building a pond for Lisa. After the heartbreak of having to cut Lisa off from the water supply because of the drought it was a great thing for the boys to do. Now the fact that the boys just showed up with equipment and no real plan or discussion is a bit of a problem. Joe was so non challant when Lisa came running to tell him he was digging up her flowers. Since they hadn't seemed like the pond was a high priority she had planted sunflowers. I see both points of view in that the flowers were gone and weren't coming back but the flip side factor of frustration had to be pretty great. It seems like the Kings certainly aren't immune to Murphy's Law and the boys hit shale within a few feet of digging. This brought some of Joe's engineer experience into play. I loved it when it talked about "mining this beautiful shale". It also threw a major monkey wrench in the plans. It was going to take more time and cost considerably more than they had planned. They also quite literally rain into a few problems when they hit a french drain. All the problems were tackled with usual King finesse and a beautiful pond was built for Lisa. Atta boy boys!!! Bitty also played a bigger role in this episode than she has in the past. It seems as though she has tired of working at the Cafe and approached Lisa about working with her. She missed being outside and needed the change. It was beautiful when Lisa was discussing the fact that maybe Bitty needed her mom and her mom certainly needed her. No one can ever accuse Lisa of not completely loving her children and wanting to spend time with them. The biggest problem with this change of venue for Bitty is that is leaves the Cafe without a King presence. Something that Joe feels is extremely important. Now I will admit that Bitty should have probably talked to Joe first before addressing anything with Lisa and certainly before she stopped working at the Cafe. I don't understand why Joe felt the need to point out that Bitty wouldn't be getting paid if she wasn't working for Freedom Farms. It doesn't seem like any of the Kings want to rest on their laurels and expect to be paid for no work. I loved it when Bitty assured him that she had talked to Lisa about the job and that she completely understood that she would not be paid by Freedom Farms when she wasn't working for them. I think Joe takes his role of protector very seriously and wants to make sure that everyone is taken care of. The episode wrapped up with an "unveiling" if you will of the new pond. Joe had obviously done a great job and the pond looked wonderful. Lisa was hassling him about the lack of water in it. I loved it when Joe pointed out that he'd done his part and that the rain would fill in the pond. He couldn't very well do a rain dance and have the heavens open. He did what he had promised and did a grand job of it. Now the next while a completely loving gesture on Tim's part did kind of undermine the hard work that Joe had done. Tim clearly still felt bad about having to cut off Lisa's water supply last year and ordered water to be delivered for the new pond. Like I said a very loving, thoughtful thing to do. It just kind of rained on Joe's parade. Know what I mean? The pond scene also showed Jessie, Pete's girlfriend, and Cam (I think that's his name) Bitty's boyfriend. Now it was a pretty quick pan shot when they did it but it still doesn't look like the illusive Maggie (Tim's fiancée) was in attendance. I wonder when she will appear. Someone has pondered if they will have the wedding be the season 2 finale. Since she has yet to appear on the show I really don't think she's going to be willing to share her wedding day as her debut. Someone else pondered about the date of the wedding. The person is married to a farmer and had to put off her dream of a fall wedding because it was such a conflict with harvesting and end of the year responsibilities. Well November 2nd will be here before we all know it and maybe there will be more answers then!

Farm Kings Season 2 Episode 6

Wow! I'm sure there is some back story that we don't know about but why in the world is Dan always getting kicked about by his older brothers??!!!?? I still think that Dan should have returned to Polyface. Joel Salatin still had loads to teach him. The way the boys react when Dan tells them how something is done at Polyface is so wrong too. At this point it would be nice if they gave Dan at least the courtesy of listening to him. They are right in that it's Freedom Farms and not Polyface. That said they've also mentioned that Polyface is the example that they are shooting for. The idea of making Dan CEO for the week was kind of fun to watch. Thankfully it didn't backfire on Dan! If the worse thing he did was order to much flour so be it. It gave Dan empathy for what Joe goes through and that's all fine and dandy but that's the role that Joe has chosen for himself. So while I'm glad it gave Dan a chance to prove himself but not messing up and doing the commercial it didn't seem to open up the family's eyes about Dan. Honestly it seems like he is a man of many strengths and can excel at almost anything when given the opportunity. I loved that he spoke up about not knowing about the trip that Tim & Sam went on and the Taste of whatever that Lisa, Bitty and Dale (?) were participating in. I think if Joe had been out of the loop that he would have raised hell. Now on to the Taste of ???? and the competition. Good G-d! Lisa might have the most competitive streak I've ever seen. I'm sure it has helped in throughout life but it also makes you think that she could get ruthless if need be. The sense of competition was fun to watch. It was great for Freedom Farms since they featured so many of the Farms products. Hey Bitty! Can you share that recipe for the meatballs? If you don't want to give away the whole recipe how about just the meatball part? We're mushroom junkies in this house and that would go over so well! The trip that Tim and Sam took was interesting to see in that I want to get more berries in the backyard so it was a bit of a learning experience for me. It was also interesting watching Sam struggle with the decision to to to college or stay and work on the farm. The fact that they have so much trust and respect for him is awesome. Also since he didn't have a clear idea of what he'd like to do with his life other than farming it was a good choice to not spend big money on college. I do think that with college being as expensive as it is and kids of 18 being as immature as they are (and should be at that age) going away is just asking for trouble and winds up blowing money. I did love the way Sam acknowledged that helping his brother grow the business was something special. Again the love, respect and work ethic Lisa instilled in her kids shines through. The commercial in and of itself was probably a great idea. The money aspect of it was something to be considered but it was out of the box for Freedom Farms and a great way to spread the word on when the home market was opening. A few problems though. I get that it was Dan's idea and he was CEO for the week. He should have not featured himself as the CEO and focused more on the family. It was a great idea of showing them cleaning and getting ready to open up for the season but perhaps they could have verbalized it better. The last thing is where in the world did they get that producer??????????????? Ok, he's Polish at least that's what I gathered from the accent and his jacket. As a fellow Pollock he kind of made me cringe but that could just be me. SO- all in all Dan did a great job. I'm sure he'll get no real credit for it and they won't be giving him more respect any time soon. Still nice to see that Dan can handle whatever is thrown his way. It will be interesting to see what niche Dan fills in this year and how Sam does with the fruit production.