A Bit on the Boob Tube

I don't really watch a whole lot of television. It always seems to be on, but I really have no clue what's on most of the time. Most of the time I'm noodling around on my laptop, but there are a select group of shows that are on my DVR timer list and make up almost the entirety of my television watching routine.

1. Good Eats. I would stalk Alton Brown if I were a little less mentally stable. As it is, I'm just vaguely obsessed with all things Alton. He taught me how to make a loaf of bread that's worth eating, and for that I'm eternally grateful. His mixture of science geek, creative whimsy, and quality recipes makes for the most unique and compelling cooking show ever. You don't leave the show knowing how to cook a dish. You leave the show knowing why you put what you put into the dish.

2. My Alton obsession continues with Feasting on Asphalt. I love travel. I love food. I love Alton Brown. There wasn't really a way I wouldn't be enraptured with a show about Alton Brown riding a motorcycle to eat his way cross country (first season) or up the Mississippi (second season).

3. No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain. I'd never read Bourdain's book, Kitchen Confidential, but I love this show. It's heavy on narration, but his bitterness, intelligence and sense of humor really make up for the heavy use of soliloquy. It's technically a food travel show, but you see a good bit of the culture of the places he visits. This is currently my favorite show on television. One day I will kill Bourdain after getting him to sign his show over to me. You've been warned Tony.

4. Bizarre Foods. Andrew Zimmern takes Bourdain's theme of travelling to eat, and then takes it to an extreme. In doing so, he makes a markedly inferior show to Bourdain, but it's still highly watchable. Whereas Bourdain oozes the charisma of an awkward punkrock teen turned cool with age, Zimmern is just a dork. His show really focuses on the weirdest foods of a place, often tossing down delicacies that not even the average local is fond of.

5. Assorted food and drink shows. I also watch The Thirsty Traveller (Bourdain's show with less focus on the host's psyche and almost exclusively about alcoholic beverages instead of food and drink). Glutton for Punishment is a guy who basically goes around trying to train to either compete in food events or be able to pass as a professional in various food and drink specialties in a week. There are a couple of other less interesting shows that are basically there for me to watch while working out.

6. I love House. Hugh Laurie is an incredible actor, perhaps the best on television. The show is a formulaic with the weekly plots, but this is definitely a character driven show. The character of House is fascinating.

7. Everything else is on Thursday. Scrubs is fading, but still funny. Great comedic characters. My Name is Earl is a great show as well. The device that ties the shows together doesn't come across as forced or formulaic even though it could easily have gone that way. Finally, The Office is one of the greatest comedies ever. It's both subtle and over the top. It's the closest thing to the Simpsons that live action television has ever seen.

That's about it. I'm not even sure what day most of these come on and the food shows have really short seasons so I'm not even watching those for long stretches of time (I haven't seen a new Thirsty Traveller in a while, for example).