The Food Network & Inane Laughter

[kyheirloomer]

Does anybody know if, among it's many format changes, FN has decreed that inane (and inappropriate) laughter be part of its stars' schticks?

I mean we all know it started with Rachael Ray, who still thinks she's in a high-school sorority, and acts that way. Then they hired Sunny Anderson, who also laughs and giggles at herself, often at the wrong time and for no apparent reason.

So, ok. Today they premiered Artie Party, with the winner of the Next Food Network Star. I watched that girl compete for ten weeks, and can't recall a single time she giggled at anything. She just wasn't the giggling type.

You wouldn't know that from her show. Seems like about every third sentence she came out with an irritating giggle.

Maybe she was just nervous, doing her first for-keeps show? But given the frequency of the giggles, and their inappropirateness---all of which seemed to be following the RR rubric---I'm beginning to wonder if it isn't an FN rule?

 

[chefedb]

 FN Reminds me of watching TV Wrestling or the old Roller Derby. They are staged, produced and directed by.  Told or scripted what to say and maybe even told when they can go to bathroom.. When I was a kid and lived in NY I was in Jr. Roller Derby , they even told us where and when to fall!  Anything for the audience

 

[kyheirloomer]

The difference is, Ed, that what you did was designed to please the audience, not irritate it. To me, all that sorority-house giggling is a turn off.

 

[tylerm713]

I have to admit, I was rooting for Herb to win NFNS, but whatevs. The reason I got interested in food was watching FN with my girlfriend, but there are still some shows I cannot watch. Anything with RR (who just flat annoys me), The Neely's (can they cook something that doesn't include pork?), and Giada (hot but annoying). That being said, FN still has some good shows. My favorites have always been Alton Brown, Michael Chiarello, and Mario Batali (I still think Molto Mario was one of the most genuine shows FN has had).

 

[amazingrace]

I wanted Herb to win too.  I liked him,  and I liked his point of view. 

I'm so glad I'm not alone with this opinion.  Not just the annoying giggles,  but also the way some of the women are dressed.  I swear,  if you get up close to the TV,  you can look right down Giada's blouse.  She's (almost) hangin out of everything she wears.  She wouldn't want to fry bacon in any one of those outfits.  One grease splatter,  and she's marred for life!  OOOOW!   that's gotta hurt.  I'm all for lookin good,  but hey...these are supposed to be "eh-hem...education".   And some of them are just not built right for the clothes they wear...tight tight jeans on big butts and thunder-thighs, and shirts 2 sizes too small  Oh,  and another thing...whatever happened to aprons?  That should be standard equipment when you're cooking.  I can't work without one.  You just had to get me started didn't you?  I could rant on for pages,  but I won't. 

 

[kyheirloomer]

I was hoping this wouldn't turn into another anti-FN rant page. Just wanted to know about that largess of laughter, and whether it's become part of their performance requirement---the way showing off their chests has been.

In that regard I've long felt many of the shows were misnamed. For instance, how about Soft Porn & Pasta for you know who? 

The irony, of course, came several NFNS seasons back, when Susie---herself no slouch in the inappropriate way to dress department---took one contestent to task for using her chest instead of her cooking chops to win favor with the audience. Say what? Does she ever watch her own programs?

As to the latest winner, it had been obvious to me from episode #1 that they were targeting Artie to be the next star.

 

[chefedb]

Susie's hot for middle aged chick.,ans a whiz at marketing

 

[kyheirloomer]

Susie's hot for middle aged chick

Ya think? I reckon that's what makes a horse race, cuz I don't find her at all appealing.

 

[maryb]

Ina Gartens(sp?) has a laugh that makes me cringe, drives me nuts to the point I will change the channel.

 

[rsteve]

Tom Pizzica, the runner-up, is slated to premier a prime time show on Food Network in November. I think Aartri Sequeira was deemed the winner simply because she was more ready to go to early production than the others. She had been producing a primitive version of her show for the web for a quite some time. And, she's a Northwestern U. Journalism school grad with both CNN and local TV, on-camera experience. Based on program schedule, of their respective programs, Pizzica took the trophy.

 

[rsteve]

I swear, if you get up close to the TV,  you can look right down Giada's blouse.  

I have a 42" 1080p HD LCD TV, but I'm waiting for 3D to try that.
 

 

[gypsy2727]

Why do we care about Hollywood Chefs anyhow?

In their restaurants we know this comradary does not go on ,do we not? ( hello! It's television...like Gilligan's Island...it's not real...snap outta vit!

It's always  a simple mind that focuses on the short comings of others ...and very simple too

They are there to make money ...you may not like their way of doing it ...so what

 

[lankin85]

"They are there to make money ...you may not like their way of doing it ...so what"

     I agree gypsy2727. Can't blame them for wanting a buck.

The only one I really mind is RR. I think she is damn sexy and would love to watch her show as I like the format and breasts. However I find her voice so annoying that I want to throw things at the TV every time she opens her mouth. Some how people must get past that urge as her show has been on for some time. Somebody must be watching.

 

[gonefishin]

   Hi KYH,

   I haven't watched the Food Network in years.  In fact, I no longer have cable Tv (a choice I am very happy with).  But your question reminds me of one of the early Making of the Next Food Network Star episodes.  In fact, it may have been the only one I watched.  The contestants had to cook, performing under time as if they were performing on their own Tv cooking segment.  Everything was judged on how well they presented the food, how well they segment flowed, if they had any missteps in their presentation.  They were then given advice regarding keeping the segment moving forward, about how they should incorporate stories of particular recipes with a family member, how they should make mention of a family pet, what to do, for the camera, if the food is far off from being prepared properly.

  I'm not totally naive.  I understand that any broadcast (live or recorded) has to have a flow to it, and cannot stumble if there are problems.  My problem was that everything being judged and all the advice that was given had nothing to do with the food.  After watching this episode I started to listen to some of the Food Tv shows in a new way.  I could see all of the advice given to the contestants of the Next Food Network Star show being used in nearly every episode of the other cooking shows (on the Food Network).  I started to see how little the channel was doing to promote/advance cooking.

   I certainly remember watching Julia Child on Tv, but I was really too young to enjoy much of her earlier work.  But perhaps her genuine appreciation for food...and cooking is what is to be appreciated with her.  It seemed to always be about the food and the preparation with her shows.  The food was not always effected by her mistakes, but sometimes it certainly was.  Is it so terrible if a thirty minute instructional cooking show doesn't flow perfectly?  Can't we learn from that?

  dan

 

[kyheirloomer]

Dan, it's not a fair comparison to put anything FN does against real cooking shows.

The criteria FN uses is "does this make good television." That may or may not relate to good cooking, or any emphasis on the food. In fact, their latest direction is away from food and more to contests and "reality" shows. This is, of course, after their last new direction---food travel---didn't resonate with their viewers.

What amuses me, though, is that if you look at their long line of shows that didn't make it, you have to wonder if they even know what makes good television.

 

[gonefishin]

Dan, it's not a fair comparison to put anything FN does against real cooking shows.

The criteria FN uses is "does this make good television." That may or may not relate to good cooking, or any emphasis on the food. In fact, their latest direction is away from food and more to contests and "reality" shows. This is, of course, after their last new direction---food travel---didn't resonate with their viewers.

What amuses me, though, is that if you look at their long line of shows that didn't make it, you have to wonder if they even know what makes good television.

    I'm not soured on all cooking shows.  In fact...there are several cooking shows that I DVR to watch at a later time.  All of them are recorded off of various PBS channels that I receive over the air.  I re-read my post and changed where I mentioned the "cooking shows" and changed it to "(The Food Network) Cooking shows".  

    I thought the cable channels were started to offer a variety outside of the mainstream mass media, yet now they define it. 

   dan

 

[gobblygook]

I made the same type of comment to my wife.  I prefer not to be distracted.  I'm wanting to watch the cooking and hear what she has to say.  My wife's comment was that the woman's head is too big for her body.  Either way, I'm there to try to get useful information about Italian cooking (I hope we're talking about the same show), but spare me the low-cut stuff.

As an aside, I absolutely LOVE Melissa D'Arabian's show because she looks like (as my wife puts it), the lady next door.  She dresses appropriately, has non-sexual charisma, and is a joy to watch.  The thing I lust after on her show is the kitchen.  I love the way her pantry is built. 

The show I don't understand is "Secrets of a Restaurant Chef".  The fake boobs that Guy Fieri wears on that show are distracting.  I don't know how he has such a clean-shaven face. 
 

but also the way some of the women are dressed.  I swear,  if you get up close to the TV,  you can look right down Giada's blouse.  She's (almost) hangin out of everything she wears. 

 

[cookinmt]

The show I don't understand is "Secrets of a Restaurant Chef".  The fake boobs that Guy Fieri wears on that show are distracting.  I don't know how he has such a clean-shaven face. 

I'm dying here.  That's freaking funny.  /img/vbsmilies/smilies/lol.gif

 

[tylerm713]

I just started watching the Cooking Channel. I know it's owned by FN, but there are actually some good shows on there. I enjoy Chuck's Day Off, The Food Jammers, and some of the old classics.

 

[bhtoad]

I'm digging the old Julia shows and the Galloping Gourmet.  I love the way they deal with the unexpected, in the kitchen or not.  Saw a show the other day where one of the theater style seats in the audience fell apart.  Graham stopped what he was doing, checked on the gentleman, and pulled a chair off of the stage and set it up in the front row for him, joking the whole time.  A true entertainer that also knows how to use a kitchen.

At the risk of making everyone roll their eyes, I do like Kitchen Nightmares on BBC America.  Not that I'm a fan of someone yelling and berating people, but I was a business/IT major and I love the case-study aspect of the show.  I like the way Ramsay focuses on the customers happy and making the business profitable.  After all, I like to go out to eat and restaurants that lose money don't stay open too long.  However, I frequently share his disappointment and get grossed out at the hygienic conditions in some of these places.  If I wanted to eat food from filthy places, I'd become a freegan.