FTV's Bobby Rivers

[Al_Dente]

Why am I watching this show? Today I've managed to see top 5 dishes named after famous people, top 5 decadent dishes, top 5 lunchbox favorites...

Somehow this show is all that is right and all that is wrong with FTV at the same time.

I really need to get out of my apt.

[Janedujour]

He's kind of scary isn't he? Yet, I love the way he says "fabulous"!

[Jason Perlow]

He's like a thin Al Roker -- except even more annoying.

[Al_Dente]

Now I'm watching top 5 fab food museums.

Must. Jab. Icepick. In. Temple.

Edited November 28, 2003 by Al_Dente (log)

[mongo_jones]

Now I'm watching top 5 food fan's destinations.

Must. Jab. Icepick. In. Temple.

i do believe that's among the top 5 ways to kill alleged enemies of the revolution.

[chefreit]

"I know it was you, Fredo. You broke my heart. You broke my heart."

This guy is the kiss of death. He is to Michael Corleone, as the show is to Fredo.

[Al_Dente]

I just learned that the SPAM museum is #1. As a bonus, I was told that SPAM can be served with either red or white wine.

My life is complete. Oh wait, top 5 kitschy food joints. Just starting.

Must. Run. Out. To. Be. Run. Over. By. Speeding. Bus.

[Al_Dente]

#4 in top kitschy places to go is South of the Border on 95. Let's have an eGullet outing to this mecca of fine food! I'm buying!

Must. Go. To. South of Border. To. Buy. Fireworks. To. Blow. Self. Up.

[rozrapp]

He's like a thin Al Roker -- except even more annoying.

But not anywhere near as annoying as that insufferable idiot, Gordon Elliott!

[mighty quinn]

ok now you've got me curious about this guy-is he on every day??

[herbacidal]

ok now you've got me curious about this guy-is he on every day??

he seems like he is.

roker to me is tolerable.

this guy is just annoying.

so now i have a name for the guy.

dammit, one more thing i didn't wanna know.

just saw part of the one today on comfort food.

only saw the summary of the top 3 tho.

anyone know what 4 and 5 were?

only reason that interests me at all is because my comfort food is beef brisket noodle soup, which i don't expect to be on the list.

[Varmint]

#4 in top kitschy places to go is South of the Border on 95. Let's have an eGullet outing to this mecca of fine food! I'm buying!

Must. Go. To. South of Border. To. Buy. Fireworks. To. Blow. Self. Up.

Fat Guy and Ellen LOVE SOTB.

It's so tacky, it's not even fun tacky.

I never sausage a place, but you're always a weiner at South of the Border.

[mighty quinn]

I never sausage a place, but you're always a weiner at South of the Border.

[suzilightning]

#4 in top kitschy places to go is South of the Border on 95. Let's have an eGullet outing to this mecca of fine food! I'm buying!

Must. Go. To. South of Border. To. Buy. Fireworks. To. Blow. Self. Up.

is that for the $99 wedding special ?

[project]

I never understood the Food Network:

Ostensibly, it's all about food. But:

* Do we get to eat it? Nope; multicast teleportation is still

on the drawing boards.

* Do we learn how to cook it for ourselves? I didn't. I kept

watching and soon made a list of what I had actually learned

to cook. Zero. Empty list.

So, why watch it? I couldn't figure out why and quit.

But, the network seems to have been successful. And much of

the success seems to have been from Emeril.

Why do people watch Emeril? He's enthusiastic and irreverent.

He seems approachable and not intimidating. Likely he

actually is a good cook.

So, there's vicarious experience, as if we were cooking or

learning to cook. We can feel part of a group. We can just

lean back, be a couch potato, and watch someone else do the

hard work while we follow along passively.

Apparently it sells reasonably well.

It isn't selling to me; I flatly don't watch it.

To me the big mystery is why it is most effective for a

program and a whole TV channel to be ostensibly about food but

in fact be about vicarious experiences and not really about

food directly at all.

Maybe others can explain; I can't.

[jwagnerdsm]

I like the way Bobby Rivers always ..... pauses for EMPHASIS. That show also drives me nuts and it drives my wife nuts because I bitch about it while watching.

[suzilightning]

He's like a thin Al Roker -- except even more annoying.

just watched the top 5 holiday (or something like that) show - i'm doing laundry and i can walk away when necessary

a) he's in new hope, pa - need i say more to anyone in ny-nj- pa?

b) he must monitor egullet since he had the tower of chocolate moose refer to him as mr. roker - then corrected it

[Janedujour]

The Santa Claus costume was "just plain fabulous"!

Poor Bobby. He's like a pain in the ass friend that you just don't have the heart to say "Go away!" to.

But I really loved the "Burnt Food Museum" and last night's coverage of the Gingerbread House competition held every year at NYC's Marquis Marriot. Beautiful pieces! Has anyone been?

[laurenmilan]

Top 5 would be 1,000% better if they let Bobby be himself... but then viewers might boycott the sponsors...

One of his old highlights on the Today Show... going to the Doll Show in NYC, and playing around with the GI Joes "Here's the Clinton-Era GI Joe - 'Gimme yer name, rank and home telephone number! *proceeded to make GI Joe dolls smootch* "

And at the boat show "That boat's wrapped in plastic - I know how that feels, I had a date last night!"

I dunno, it was just a magical moment for me. Funny how he disappeared from NBC after that...

[FistFullaRoux]

Bobby Rivers and Marc Summers are both old radio guys. That's the reason for the emphasis on the voices.

I will admit to catching the occasional Top 5, but only if there's nothing else on the tube, and I don't feel like starting a new project, because I will be up until 3am otherwise. I just tell myself it's educational, being the trivia freak that I am.

That being said, one show actually upset me. The top 5 things that taste like chicken. The usual suspects were there, gator, frogs legs, duck (duck?). But when they announced number one, I actually got upset. The number one food that tastes like chicken is... Chicken. My reaction to that news was to mutter "assholes" under my breath and change channels. I then fumed about it for an hour. I felt ripped off.

[tsquare]

He was a real sweet kid. Had a food nickname way back in high school - I wonder if he remembers it? Of course, no one in his high school probably knew it - just my brother and his friends, and Bobby.

Bobby - if you read this - kreplach greetings to you from the little sister.