I have a TiVo. I love it. I use it to record 90s sitcoms, so that I don’t have to watch any modern drivel like 24. The only things I do watch that were made this year, however, are Grey’s Anatomy (yeah, yeah I know it sucks) and reality TV shows. Today I want to talk about a show that premiered last night, season three of the Next Food Network Star.

Season 1 and 2 did not live up to the idea–they didn’t really challenge the contestants in the way a show like Top Chef would. This year they’ve overhauled the format such that there is still the talking/presentation element, but there’s also some high-level cooking going on. Most of this years’ contestants are chefs/ caterers, with the odd home-cook thrown in. Last year, it was an even balance of amateurs and professionals.

That said, I have to say that the aptly named Bob Tuschman and Suzie Fogelson are getting on my nerves in a way that only marketing people can. They are constantly whining about “personality!”, which they seem to rather strictly define as the sort of lunacy that we see on Emeril live. (If I must watch Emeril, I prefer him on that other show he has, where he’s less hyperactive and faux-aggressive).

I also see that Giada De Laurentiis will be on the next episode. I used to love Giada on her own cooking shows, until I saw her on this show’s previous season. She seemed like such a catty little thing that I instantly commenced hate-age.

Anyway, I’m not really sure how much better this season will be from the previous ones. I’m just sticking around for the Nigella Lawson .