Alright, seriously Food Network???

Have you ever noticed that the same people appear on multiple shows on Food Network? I mean, Bobby Flay has like three shows, Racheal Ray had four shows at one time, Paula's got a couple, Giada's got a couple, Aaron Sanchez is on two, Sandra Lee has a couple, Guy Fieri has a bunch, Aaron McCargo Jr. just got a second show ... you see where I'm going here.

It begs the question - is Food Network too cheap to hire new hosts? Given the fact they are owned by the Scripps Network, I seriously doubt money is the issue.

Okay, so if that's not it, do they operate under the old addage, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it?" Ergo, if the host works on one show, they must work on another one. Duh.

Yeah, well, I think it is a whole different thing. I think they personally believe in incest. Think about it ... the hosts are all a member of the same "Food Network family." Most of these new shows involve guest spots, or whatever, by other Food Network family members. Apparently when Food Network runs out of ideas, they just let the family members work their magic with other ones, and the offspring are the mutation shows.

You think I'm kidding don't you? Alright ...

Michael Symon, one of the newest Iron Chefs, took over Dinner Impossible but that didn't last for long. Food Network threw out Robert Irvine's lies and brought him back because Symon, well, sucked.

Ohhh, let's talk about Iron Chef America for a minute. You've got something that worked in Japan with some freaky dude eating a pepper and you add Morimoto (who, admittedly, was on the original), Bobby Flay, Mario Batali, Wolfgang Puck (who seems to have run back to L.A. screaming because he wasn't an Iron Chef for long) and Alton Brown. Even more, they've brought on Rachael Ray and Paula Dean as challengers. It's an incestuous orgy of biblical proportions. Not a single person will tell you that they like Iron Chef America more than the original, and if they do, they are LIARS! Come on, you know you miss the constant calling of Quizon's name. (Probably spelled wrong, eh, who cares?)

Chef vs. City features Aaron Sanchez from Chopped. It seems like Aaron didn't think his sometimes-guesting gig was enough, so they had to throw some reality-type show together for him. It didn't do well the first season, so what did they do for the second season? Instead of chefs from the city in question (which makes a lot more sense given the name of the show), he must compete against other Food Network chefs. The one I just watched featured a losing team of Sunny Anderson and Claire Robinson. Guess they figured bringing in other Food Network stars to this show would add more people to the teeny-tiny audience this show pulls in. Doesn't work. (Further proof inbreeding can ruin the offspring.)

How about Food Network Star? I like the show, I admit it. But I hate the fact that each current Food Network star make them do a challenge, and critiques them based on their show/personality. Uhmm ... no, if you're looking for the NEXT big thing, then you don't want it to be a carbon copy of what you already have, do you? Well, given the mojo of Food Network as of present, I guess they do.

I could go on and on. Obviously I watch all these shows, and I admit to anyone that this is one of my favorite channels and I would probably go through DTs if I didn't have it. (The easiest way to kill me - take away Food Network and internet.) But it just seems a bit routine, a bit too all in the family.

By the way ... I think the coolest episode of Chopped would be if they brought back three of the winners to be the judges and make the judges be the competitors. But you know, what the hell do I know? I'm just someone who sits at home and watches Food Network, making incest jokes.