"Good Eats" recently shot its final episode

[ToddKent]

Any other fans of the show on this board? I know it's the typical Food Network deal where they cancel the show but keep the talent around for various other shows but still...it's the end of an era.

For years this has been my "go to" cooking show. Here's an NPR story:

http://www.npr.org/2011/09/03/140165889/alton-brown-takes-a-final-bite-of-good-eats#commentBlock

If you have a minute then register with the NPR website so you can leave a comment on the story about how the idiot reporter couldn't be bothered to learn how to pronounce Alton's name correctly.

Here's hoping there's some more "Feasting on Asphalt" in our future.

 

[Captain Qwert Jr]

Loved the show, though I didn't always love the recipes.

But you can certainly learn a lot from it. From watching his show, for instance, I cooked his Pot Roast recipe perfectly. didn't like it much, but it was perfectly cooked.

With some minor modifications his Red beans and Rice are almost perfect.

 

[Timby]

Actually, it was Alton Brown himself who made the decision to cancel the show (and it was announced around the beginning of summer that this season would be the last). He's a bit tired with the program and isn't especially happy with Food Network's direction of focusing upon personality over food, but apparently he approached FN with an idea for another traveling show (similar to his Traveling on Asphalt material from a few years back), which received a positive reception, so he'll be sticking around for a while.

As for the show's content, his recipes themselves could get more than a little convoluted, and occasionally got incredibly insane, but the great thing about it was his appreciation of the science of cooking -- why certain ingredients behave the way they do, why certain flavors interact so well, why a certain heat method works better than another on a particular dish, so on and so forth. I'll be glad to see him stretching his wings a bit.

 

[Christopher]

The food is the least of the reasons I watch Good Eats. I like the science and the skits and the special effects and the characters.

What bewilders me is that when Syfy decided to do a cooking show last year, they did that Marcel's Quantum Kitchen thingy instead of hiring Alton Brown. Heck, Good Eats is already practically an SF/fantasy show.

 

[bigdaddy]

I haven't watched in years but it was an amazing show. The fact the show was a cooking, history, science show all in one makes his show one of a kind.

I also like the fact he was the only one to ever explain why high fructose corn syrup is horrible for you, and then makes fun of the fact the government thinks it knows more about food then him.

 

[Timby]

What bewilders me is that when Syfy decided to do a cooking show last year, they did that Marcel's Quantum Kitchen thingy instead of hiring Alton Brown.

Well, there is the little issue of Scripps having Brown under contract. I believe he also just re-upped in late May for at least another two years, which will continue his hosting duties on Next Food Network Star, Iron Chef America and whatever other television programs his Be Square production outfit comes up with.

 

[Trekker4747]

I first saw an episode of Good Eats about 10 years ago and loved it immediately -I believe it was the pizza episode. I liked Alton's approach to teaching the "science" of cooking and using the scientific knowledge to form recipes. His show, more than others, taught you how to cook rather than just firing recipes at you. Heck, he has episodes where he doesn't give any recipes at all and just shows off some technique that produces something fairly mundane.

I know some of Good Eats' episodes are available on themed DVDs but I'd love to have all of the episodes on DVD.

I do think the show lost quite a bit of quality between a couple of recent seasons where Alton lost an extreme amount of weight and his show began focusing on far more healthier foods. His show often reveled in the idiom "I said it was good, not healthy." and phrases like that.

And Alton owes a lot of shows since every episode usually included him talking about some ingredient or item and saying, "but that's for another show."

And yes his use of MST3K-level of props and production design, references to all forms of popular culture (heavy on the sci-fi) was also a great part of it. It's one of very few cooking shows that was also part sit-com as Good Eats has a vast library or secondary characters who made occasional appearances up to and including an "evil" twin-brother of Alton's.

Honestly, I started missing the show after the aforementioned shift of focus Alton took from cooking methods for "every day" cooking to much more healthy options. It'll still be sad to see it gone.

I've got all of Alton's books and even three of them I have autographed from seeing him in person. In person he seemed like a great, nice, man. Pretty much the personality we saw on TV.

One of the books, in fact, is signed "May the food be with you."

I also like the fact he was the only one to ever explain why high fructose corn syrup is horrible for you,

I also believe he was one of the first to call out the problems with Trans-Fatty Acids (mostly found in margarine, and in most packaged baked goods) before the nation as a whole latched on to the idea.

 

[DBR]

Actually, it was Alton Brown himself who made the decision to cancel the show (and it was announced around the beginning of summer that this season would be the last). He's a bit tired with the program and isn't especially happy with Food Network's direction of focusing upon personality over food, but apparently he approached FN with an idea for another traveling show (similar to his Traveling on Asphalt material from a few years back), which received a positive reception, so he'll be sticking around for a while.

Yeah, the Food Network has very much become 'FLASH, BANG, look at my wild hair and crrrazzzy tattoos while I use unorthodox methods to make shit.' I'm glad to hear Alton Brown at least realizes that.

 

[bigdaddy]

Actually, it was Alton Brown himself who made the decision to cancel the show (and it was announced around the beginning of summer that this season would be the last). He's a bit tired with the program and isn't especially happy with Food Network's direction of focusing upon personality over food, but apparently he approached FN with an idea for another traveling show (similar to his Traveling on Asphalt material from a few years back), which received a positive reception, so he'll be sticking around for a while.

Yeah, the Food Network has very much become 'FLASH, BANG, look at my wild hair and crrrazzzy tattoos while I use unorthodox methods to make shit.' I'm glad to hear Alton Brown at least realizes that.

He can always move over to The Cooking Network. I think that's the plan anyways. Have real cooking of TCN and just crazy food stuff of FN.

 

[AJBryant]

Gadzooks, I love that show. Sniff.

 

[Trekker4747]

Just an interesting note, the woman who plays TV Alton's "equipment expert"/Q analog "W" has a cameo role in "The Change Up."

 

[Christopher]

^It would be more interesting if it had been in something other than that movie.

 

[Trekker4747]

^It would be more interesting if it had been in something other than that movie.

Well, true. But it was interesting to see her show up in the movie none-the-less. What was kind-of funny was that she was basically playing W as the character's mannerisms and rather "stiff"/all business ways were just like W's.

 

[DBR]

He can always move over to The Cooking Network. I think that's the plan anyways. Have real cooking of TCN and just crazy food stuff of FN.

You guys have two cooking channes down there? Now I'm just jealous.

 

[bigdaddy]

He can always move over to The Cooking Network. I think that's the plan anyways. Have real cooking of TCN and just crazy food stuff of FN.

You guys have two cooking channes down there? Now I'm just jealous.

I don't have either channel.

However Food Network started a new network called "The Cooking Network" which is just all of The Food Network's cooking shows and none of the crazy stuff.

 

[IndyJones]

However Food Network started a new network called "The Cooking Network" which is just all of The Food Network's cooking shows and none of the crazy stuff.

I wish The Travel Channel and, to a lesser extent, The History Channel, would take that approach as well.

 

[Nerys Myk]

However Food Network started a new network called "The Cooking Network" which is just all of The Food Network's cooking shows and none of the crazy stuff.

I wish The Travel Channel and, to a lesser extent, The History Channel, would take that approach as well.

Till they go down the same road as VH1 did.

 

[Peach Wookiee]

I love Alton and that explains why Good Eats has been on in the mornings lately. I hope they keep airing it in repeats and I hope he stays on FN.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

However Food Network started a new network called "The Cooking Network" which is just all of The Food Network's cooking shows and none of the crazy stuff.

I wish The Travel Channel and, to a lesser extent, The History Channel, would take that approach as well.

They kinda do with History International, although possibly inadvertently. Because it shows old History Channel programs, it avoids most of those reality television shows.

 

[Kirby]

Loved the show, though I didn't always love the recipes.

I agree, great show with a ton of useful information, but some of the recipes were downright awful. The BLT salad comes immediately to mind. There are others, but I've aparantly blocked them out.
That said, his brined turkey is a Thanksgiving tradition for us, and I make his oven braised baby back ribs several times a year. His pan seared rib eyes are great too, but it sets off every smoke alarm in the house when I make them.