Would you watch this cooking show?


Well, it's finally working, a 3 minute sneak peek video clip at the proposed cooking show starring Dr. James Carlson and Dana Carpender HCG*.  Your Doctor's in the Kitchen  (not to be confused with The Doctors in the Kitchen).  

After an opening with degree placards on the wall, we're told he's a biker.  Really?  I'd have never guessed from the get-up.  

Maybe it's an age and gender thing -- please men in the audience, tell me y'all wouldn't be caught dead in this outfit in your man cave! (I love bikes and bikers, but if you can't pull it off, don't even try) --  but gimme a break, this guy is worse than politicians in their "mom jeans".  Helmet on the counter, the T, the Harley vest and the skullcap.  But what's that above his belt?  Maybe Eades can lend him a girdle ;-)  Really, it's uncomfortable just looking at that man.  His outfit screams "dork going through a midlife crisis".  Uggh! 

*HCG:  What?  Home Cooking Goddess of course! (You didn't think I was going there, did you?) I must say she looks good here, but lacks camera skills (understandable).  

Comments

Tsimblist said…
He kind of reminds me of John Travolta's character in the movie "Wild Hogs".
bentleyj74 said…
Ha! Vindicated. It WAS him...bwa ha ha ha ha ha.

I just can't think of anyone this would appeal to. Anthony Bourdain could clean up the floor with him after his sixth shot of absinthe and without putting his cigarette out. Probably show him how men do leather right, too.
bentleyj74 said…
Oh wait, no it's not the same guy. He shows up at some point also sporting a skullcap and double chin. There will be a general MS13 theme for the boys 'cause they're so down with it.

Is this the smaller version of DC? Wow. She looks awful by every measure! It was worse before?
okay the doctors (plural) in the kitchen are adorable - I would totally watch that show! the other one though - between his unfortunate wardrobe choices & potbelly plus how unhealthy the poor woman looks...yikes.
LeonRover said…
I absorbed cooking lessons from being under my Mom's feet at the age of three to age eleven when I cooked for the family when she was ill.

When cooking shows began to be the rage on TV, my wife or I cooked using recipes of French peasant style, or Italian or Greek. Why watch rather than do? We had better things to do with our viewing time.

I find it a bizarre notion to watch a TV chef. I might however, go to his/her restaurant, experience the result and maybe ask about preparation of a dish that I had prepared myself.

"But that was in another country, and besides, the wench is dead".

Slainte
Tonus said…
I like the concept behind the opening montage, I just think it needs polish. Better video and a competent editor would make it flow better and remove the awkwardness that it has at present. Carlson seems to have experience in front of a camera (or he's just a natural); his expressions and hand movement are smooth and 'made for TV.' Carpender seems a bit out of her element. I don't think you realize how important the proper reactions and movements are until you see someone inexperienced at it.

I don't think Carlson's outfit works, particularly the bandanna. Maybe it's the bright and contrasting color scheme, maybe it's that "someone's trying to recapture his 30s" vibe. Dunno. The show could work with two people who are a bit younger and fitter (and more telegenic) and who follow an LC eating plan.

This could all be derailed if it turns out that people don't really care about healthy eating when they tune in to cooking shows. Most TV chefs are quite large, and that doesn't seem to hurt the ratings. And those TV shows where a host travels the country, stuffing himself with fatty/carby/sugary comfort foods, seem to be pretty popular. TV has typically been an escape for us. Do we really want our cooking shows to drag us back into reality?
bentleyj74 said…
Agree Tonus. If the premise wasn't health [the hosts clearly aren't credible] and they recast and hire a wardrobe designer who isn't currently dropping acid then they'd have a shot as a...completely mundane cooking show.
bentleyj74 said…
"But that was in another country, and besides, the wench is dead".

D@mn it LeonRover if you persist in all these lit references I'm going to be wistful and useless for anything but wine and cheese the rest of the day.

Pffft.
Galina L. said…
I never know in advance what I would watch. LeonRover, being able to cook since childhood has no correlation with watching or not cooking shows. Alton Brown used to be my favorite, I thought I knew what to do with a duck, but he taught me some new things about it. Nowadays I try not to miss American Test Kitchen. Reruns of Julia Child are worth watching for me. Never watched Paula Dean because her style of speaking rubbed me in a wrong way.
The outfit of Dr. James Carlson turns me off - colors remind Razwell's blog. The west looks like a pouch hiding piece or a kitchen dirt catcher.
bentleyj74 said…
On a slightly more serious note here's some criticism more legit than the awful outfits and DCs grating "I'm talking on camera" voice.

It was that "trick" of using implication rather than assertion while debunking diet "myths" that really stuck out to me.

"You don't have to exercise to lose weight" This is true. You can absolutely be lean without exercise. That's not what he's implying though is it? He's implying that people can look the way they WANT to look by eating their "healthy fats" and eschewing carbs. This is not true. Lack of muscle tone/mass is lack of muscle tone/mass. On a fat person it looks...a lot like DC. On a thin person it looks emaciated. Most people look "too thin" because they lack muscle.

"Eating fat doesn't make you fat" Again true.... but again he implies the reverse is true and this is also the premise of the cooking show. What you "should" be eating to embrace natural good health and vigor...presumably just like our hosts?

Good grief, the Drs Eades don't look fantastic but they do at least look reasonably robust. DC has a "semi-invalid" appearance to her upper body that would be premature on a woman more than a decade her senior.
bentleyj74 said…
Kurt Harris is in fine flesh, I'd watch him cook and talk about stearic acid :)
@bentleyj74 I second the KGH opinion. maybe we should take a page from the GT playbook and start a petition to get him a show.
Gys de Jongh said…
The Hairy Bikers http://www.hairybikers.com/ landed in the USA :)
bentleyj74 said…
@Fashiontribes

The petition is well enough but someone better have something GOOD on KGH to get him to agree with these shenanigans. He's mentioned a time or two how little time/effort he likes to devote to food prep. I'm betting it's good to be a retired king :)
Sue said…
Dr Carlson get rid of the biker's outfit - you look ridiculous and need to get rid of the belly.
What's up with DC's voice - maybe its my volume but she sounds kind of masculine and weird.
@bentleyj74 yes, indeed but it's good to be the king!
bentleyj74 said…
If they pick up this show I will run my own version of "Mystery Science Theater".
Alma said…
I didn't realise that my husband was watching it over my shoulder. He said Is that a spoof? and that was my reaction too! It looks and sounds very unnatural but having said that I'd watch it anyway for sheer curiosity. Having said that, I'd find it difficult thinking of it as a healthy cooking show but rather a low carb one.
river rance said…
What do you call the medical student that finishes last in med school? Doctor! Thank you Evelyn! That is some funny funny stuff. Made my day, I mean who isn't laughing at that nonsense? Beautiful, keep up the good work and sense of humor.
River
CarbSane said…
I showed this to my hubby last night w/o explanation. I suppose it wouldn't be that bad from a health standpoint if the lead-in announcement didn't claim "perfect weight" and Carlson didn't start out by saying what doesn't make you fat. Indeed when he said my hubby asked why Carlson was fat then.
CarbSane said…
I enjoy watching these shows for ideas and general cooking tips. As Galina noted, one of the best for the latter is Alton Brown -- although he often veers into making crazy contraptions, sometimes they are good! We make box fan jerky once or twice a year (tip: doesn't work in humid weather!) and I would never in a million years have thought to dry age my own prime rib ... but oh ... there IS nothing quite like it!

While I can see how spending too much time in the kitchen, prepping foods and making tasty concoctions can be counterproductive for some, for me it most certainly is not. The foods I make are nutritious (I don't do desserts except on rare holiday) as well as tasty, and I don't overeat them. I consider being able to make even some more decadent foods and not having any desire to finish them a triumph in my life over the eating disorders of yesteryear when I couldn't even have had some of the ingredients in my house.
CarbSane said…
kitchen dirt catcher ... LOL!!
CarbSane said…
The use of the terms "perfect weight" and something about Dana knowing too much about how to eat right for health fly in the face of the presentation for sure!
CarbSane said…
Hey! That looks kinda cool. I almost didn't want to look. But are they healthy? LOL
Shecky said…
I just stumbled on this blog. Who's the guy wearing the pirate costume?
Karen said…
Speaking of Stella. I saw him on Today show I think. About a week ago. He has gained also. Not because Im happy about that but it seems to be the way it goes. His wife hasnt, nor his son. Just sayin
Fleur said…
Oh my. Is Dana chewing on something while she is chopping?
Sven Anders said…
The answer is obvious: in the land of the obese, fat is the new normal.
CarbSane said…
Hey King! Nice to see your new smiling face. You look much younger and thinner since you've come to the Asylum >:p
CarbSane said…
Welcome Shecky! The only thing missing is an eyepatch (something Dana is almost wearing with her bangs-in-eyes look)
CarbSane said…
Did my response get eaten? In any case, it looks like a nervous tick or something -- still distracting. Either that or chopping that garlic is taking enormous concentration and effort.
CarbSane said…
What bothers me is that usually when folks regain it's because they go "off the diet" -- often big time. While this happens to some low carbers (including moi after stints 1&2), many others maintain the lifestyle but gain anyway. That is scary and discouraging.
CarbSane said…
"The show could work with two people who are a bit younger and fitter (and more telegenic) and who follow an LC eating plan."

Wonder if this is what Jimmy means by "tweaking". He's put out the full court LLVLC press to get folks to "like" the show on FB and help get it picked up by some network or something. I'd say if they really want to see an LC cooking show come to fruition, they scrap this effort and start fresh.
CarbSane said…
With the Macy character's geekiness.
Galina L. said…
I completely agree with "While I can see how spending too much time in the kitchen, prepping foods and making tasty concoctions can be counterproductive for some, for me it most certainly is not. " Due to my hobby my family lives like there is no fast-food around, and it also a very creative occupation.

I also consider time spent in a kitchen as an important a non-sedentary activity, I don't know about everyone, but it definitely helps me to sit less and move more. On purpose I keep using a manual meat grinder and wash dishes mostly by hand. It is a logical continuation of trying to walk more.I don't go that far as washing clothes without a washing machine - it would be too much and zero fan.. Sometime I even feel warned-out, like when I recently made 3 gallons of sauerkraut , then cleaned the kitchen. We have an unusually warm winter here in Florida, nectarine tree and pomegranate started to bloom already, and I thought I may miss the cool weather suitable for fermenting.
CarbSane said…
WOW ... Jimmy's comments on his blog are hilarious. First it's that Carlson is not fat (he clearly is packing some extra pounds and that no-exercise thing seems to be working wonders for him), then it's that weight isn't the goal, but Carlson's tiny (???), then it's health and those two are paragons (apparently he's unaware of Dana's myriad issues and Carlson doesn't exude anything other than midlife crisis to me).

I'm thinking if TV is going to have an LC or Paleo cooking show it's going to be someone like a Sara Fragoso (sp?) or NomNom Paleo. Can Sugar Free Sheila cook?
I don't think we'll have to worry about the specter of a LC cooking show anytime soon. As JM pointed out in the comments, in TV-land, image is everything - and all these LC'ers are too pallid looking & heavy, er um "healthy". The paleo crowd like Sarah Fragoso & that buff chick who presented at AHS (I can't think of her name, she does those Ironman contests & has bigass biceps) definitely look a lot more robust than the LC crowd, probably b/c the they deign to engage in the dreaded cardio regularly. Also, Robb Wolf was on "I, Caveman" show on Discovery and a paleo-cooking show would ride the "real food" trend plus it has a less tired feel than LC.