It’s been a while since I’ve been moved to update the TV section of this site. In part because I’ve been too busy to update this page, and in part because nothing on TV has really grabbed me in a while. There have been a number of competent, interesting shows, of course, but typically they’ve either been cancelled about the time I was thinking of writing about them or didn’t really grab me.

I have to say I wasn’t really a fan of the _idea_ of Cutthroat Kitchen. It seems like a fairly obvious extension of existing shows like Chopped, Iron Chef, or Top Chef, but I hated the fact that they were producing inferior food and judging without any regard to the sabotages.

I’ve come around since then for several reasons.

1. • The host--Alton Brown-- is one of my favorite cooking folks, and this show is clearly a labor of love (or spite... he does seem to have a bit of a sadistic streak on the show) for him. He’s clearly engaged and delighted by the show, and his enthusiasm is contagious.
   

2. • The sabotages are actually pretty clever. While they have been somewhat repetitive, they do a good job of mixing in new ones periodically to keep things fresh. I must say that I was charmed by the Tiny Kitchen sabotage, which is just delightful (see below for a pic).

   

   
   

3. • The strategy of bidding on the sabotages (which is almost pure game theory) is fascinating to watch.
   

4. • I’m less bothered by the sabotaged food than I thought I’d be. When someone overcomes a horrible sabotage with a clever strategy, it’s more fulfilling than if they’d just produced an outstanding product with no constraints.
   

The episode that really made me appreciate the show was a recent one where the regular judges for the show were asked to be contestants. I appreciated the karma, but also the humor and wit of the episode. Again, I’m not a huge fan of reality television in general, but like it when they can be imbued with some creativity and spark, which this show has by the gallon.