Brown Motion

A multi part documentary on the origins and progression of comedy as a form of engagement in America is currently playing on CNN. I have watched a few early episodes that chronologically were not as exciting to watch but did build the curve to the more contemporary genre where situational comedy is king.  The 'Leave it to beaver' and 'Fawlty towers', even 'Cheers' and other sitcoms of yesteryear for which I have no perspective nor empathy were fast forwarded (thanks to DVR tech) till George Carlin made an appearance. To be a successful comic could mean a variety of things - and the show does justice to show those various facets.  Audience measurement, financial success for all involved in the making of the production, studio support to do more than one season are all various KPI that you could use to determine how good or bad an individual performance was. But ultimately some shows and their cast just click with the zeitgeist and make it look easy.  Both ...

As large network programming goes I am not a fan,  and cannot remember much of any particular show that I clicked with since coming to America two decades ago. Every person follows something they individually crave or have a deep affection for and seek out a life to live vicariously through the media they watch. In our case both the wife and I love to eat and explore flavors - we live to eat - and try to appreciate the varied lifestyles of the people that inhabit this oblate hardware we call Earth.  To that point we have been fortunate to visit some remote parts of this planet from the southern fringes of Australia and New Zealand to the northern latitudes of Alaska and some parts in between. Food of course comes in many forms sometimes living and mostly dead (assuming it had parents) and can be manipulated in terms of texture and the final flavor profile before it hits your plate and your palate. Growing up with a largely vegetarian diet in a country where a cow is s...