The Food Network is just banal

[Lethe]

really, the only shows that taught you anything were Molto Mario and Good Eats.

Now, it seems like it's just an endless barrage of mediocre recipes cooked up by Food Network test kitchens and relayed to the public via their proxy shiny-toothed hosts.

There is a place for the Sandra Lees and Rachael Rays of the world, and that is fine. We all want decent food that is easy to cook.

But there is also a need for shows that instruct the neophyte chef; shows that go outside a comfort zone with confidence and beckon the viewer to more adventurous culinary endeavors

[spoony]

1. They should be playing WAY more Good Eats

And not just the same dozen or so over and over.

[6000eliot]

2. What about The Barefoot Contessa?

I only watch it for background noise, to tell you the truth. I hear they added all of the competition shows to draw men to the network.

[LostInAnomie]

3. Guy Fieri is the biggest fucking douche on TV.

I avoid that network at all costs just to avoid seeing that douchebag for just one second. There is something about him that just makes me want to punch him in the cock.

[Rabrrrrrr]

7. Ain't that the fucking truth! Total fucking douchebag.

[XemaSab]

4. Compared with HGTV

it's practically intellectual.

[LeftyMom]

5. The house flipping, bright paint and MDF channel?

All the home improvement shows I actually like are on BBC America. At least they're flipping, painting and MDF shelving quirky, interesting spaces- you get an interesting mix of postage stamp-sized London flats and gigantic homes in the country, which is good because I live in freakin' Sacramento, so I've seen enough beige stucco houses with charmless interiors for several lifetimes.

[AwakeAtLast]

6. Out of what's left, I find myself watching Tyler Florence

I also get a lot from Ina Garten, too, but that's about it.

[Rabrrrrrr]

8. Food Network hit its MTV moment about three years ago.

Went from being a network about food and cooking that was interesting and cool into a network of top-heavy babes, celebrity-style marketing and production, and, as you said, banality.

[bigwillq]

9. I still enjoy watching it.

It's still better than most things that are on TV, imo.