Alton Brown reminds me of those kids in high school who were in Drama class. You know, the ones who are always hamming it up and trying too hard. They are like "oh look at me, I'm so artisitic and dramatic, at least that's what I want you to think." The skinny kid from the Mac ads is another example. Feasting on Asphalt was semi-watcable.
In other words, switch to HGTV.
well, cheesy-ness of the show aside, what i like about the show is a lot of explanation as to WHY things are done rather than just "use these ingredients in this way to make this dish". on top of this, the production isn't shit like a lot of the other shows are on the network these days. a lot of soft-focus, shaky camera stuff on brightly colored sets. some of the shows are unwatchable just on the camera work/production alone. not to mention that the draw of the shows tends to focus anymore towards the personalities rather than the actual food/cooking... that's if you actually find a real cooking show on and not some competition show.
i have the tv on a lot. i can't say that i particularly WATCH a lot of tv though. it's on in the background. i honestly try to find things to watch that i can actually learn something from.
i enjoyed feasting on asphault. i dislike when they have travelling food shows that focus almost strictly on higher-end things. show some real food. also, in addition to a few other things i strongly dislike about rachel ray, she's a ridiculously shitty tipper.