Wednesday, November 12, 2008

THE RETURN OF HUNG'S MONKEY: With the return of "Top Chef" impending tonight, the San Francisco Chronicle's Tim Goodman issues a cri de coeur on the difference between "unscripted" and "reality" tv shows, calling upon viewers to drop their anti-nonfiction biases and accept the entertainment value of unscripted tv:

People who love "Top Chef" are mostly crazed foodies, but not all of them. Some people who watch can't pour a bowl of cereal -- they just like people with knives who yell and cry. They like to root for people who used to do something boring before turning to food preparation. They want to see people wilt in the heat of the kitchen (and food-prep battle). They want to see bad meals poorly made. Or good meals mangled -- a debacle so evident to the millions watching that no oven mitt can hide the fingerprints of shame.
My 2003 provisional taxonomy of the reality tv universe still holds up pretty well, though there are plenty of clear subgenres we can parse out like the "Competition: Career Skills" we'll all be watching tonight.

What I appreciate about "Top Chef" is what I appreciate about "Project Runway," only more so. The challenges are often realistic assessments for the skills it takes to thrive in the field, such as the food prep relay races or "what to do with a chicken, an onion, and a potato?", and one does not do better than judges like Anthony Bourdain, Tom Colicchio and the heralded guest chefs they bring in. Are you ready to return to the kitchen?

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