The Food Network Show That Always Deserves A Rewatch

It's always nice to throw on Food Network at a random time and see what's playing, but at a certain point it all starts to bleed together. Turn it on in the middle of the day and you're likely to see the hosts of "The Kitchen" yukking it up. Turn it on in the afternoon and you'll probably see reruns of "Chopped" or "Beat Bobby Flay." At any given moment, the probability of Guy Fieri showing up is greater than 50%. This is all to say that Food Network's programming can be a bit monotonous — but that only makes the rare times it shows reruns of Alton Brown's "Good Eats" that much sweeter.

You're probably familiar with Alton Brown even if you've never watched "Good Eats." He's the bespectacled fellow from "Iron Chef America" and the guy who made people cook pasta with an espresso pot on "Cutthroat Kitchen." But before any of that happened, he was a cinematographer from Georgia who had his big break shooting the music video for R.E.M.'s song "The One I Love." After reaping the benefits of that professional opportunity, Brown attended culinary school and shot a couple of pilots for a TV show idea he had which was inspired by the cooking know-how of Julia Child, the approachable science of Mr. Wizard, and the freewheeling absurdity of Monty Python. The pilot originally aired on public television in Chicago and was eventually discovered by a Food Network executive online, after which the show "Good Eats" was brought onto the channel where it first aired in 1999.

There were a few things that set "Good Eats" apart from other cooking shows, chief among them was Alton Brown's dedication to food science. Part of the reason why he was inspired to start the show was his frustration with contemporary cooking shows which gave viewers recipes to follow but didn't bother to explain the rationale behind each step. As someone who attributes his cooking philosophy to being raised by his mechanic grandfather (as well as to make up for not being a natural cook), Brown needed to understand what was going on under the hood.

On "Good Eats," he was happy to share that knowledge with his viewers. With an irrepressible zeal reminiscent of Bill Nye the Science Guy, Brown explained the principles behind the Maillard reaction and egg poaching as well as the way ingredients like gelatin work. Much like how "Seinfeld" might seem pedestrian to those who grew up in a television landscape shaped by it, it may be hard for some people to appreciate how influential Brown's science-based approach has been. The success of "America's Test Kitchen," J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, and Gatorwine enthusiast Andrew "Babish" Rea all come downwind of "Good Eats" introducing food science to the masses.

Although Alton Brown's food science-based approach was influential, there have been few cooking shows (before or since) quite like "Good Eats." Certainly there aren't many shows that look like it. Brown's background as a cinematographer led him to give "Good Eats" a dynamic visual style loaded with Dutch angles (a shot that's angled slightly askew) as well as plenty of shots pointed out from the insides of ovens, fridges, cabinets, and pretty much anywhere else that could conceivably fit a camera. While other shows lulled you with a familiar visual formula, "Good Eats" sought to invigorate you and hold your attention.

That creativity extended to the rest of the show, which was laden with pop culture references and gleefully goofy skits which, while fun, also served a purpose. From the very first episode, which opened with a discussion of John Wayne's taste for steak, Brown proved that he was (pop) culturally literate and engaged with the world around him. And while the various skits were filled with colorful characters and scenarios, like Brown entering a courtroom to defend the honor of butter or being deserted on a tropical island and re-enacting the plot of "Cast Away" with an inflatable pool toy, they always accentuated the educational core.

"Good Eats" was a dispatch from a brighter, more colorful world. (Although it mostly aired in the 2000s, it was spiritually very '90s.) Alton Brown has since moved on, but whenever a rerun surfaces from a sea of samey Food Network shows and Triple-D marathons, it's a cause for celebration.