BAM! ... CANCELED!

According to The Los Angeles Times, The Food Network canceled Emeril's live show Emeril Live (what an original title, no?) after 10 years on the air. The network will continue to carry his prerecorded show, Essence of Emeril, but otherwise, it's curtains for his live act.

I was surprised - but happy - to hear of the demise of this boring food show. I've never cared much for Emeril: his style, presentation and overall approach fail to impress me. Give me Paula's Home Cooking any day... she has a real way about her; a warmth and charm making every meal, and every show, feel like it was made just for you. Granted, she goes a little heavy on the butter, and tends to cook foods I don't eat (ox tail, seafood specialty items), but I could watch her cook for hours.

Additionally, Emeril just doesn't seem that approachable, if you ask me. He mumbles, as he shuffles around the kitchen, and the, suddenly, yells, "BAM!" I would believe he was actually, "taking things up a notch," if his presentation wasn't so rough around the edges, so unimaginative. Even that alcoholic, anorexic, half-baked mess of a host, Sandra Lee (Semi-Homemade With Sandra Lee), seems more human than Emeril.

Don't get me wrong: I'm sure he's a nice guy, or whatever. I'm just happy to see a boring show getting the axe. But knowing my luck, they just fill that time slot with another episode of The Barefoot Contessa (Ina, you're no Sophia Loren), or worse... like that Alton Brown character. I swear, sometimes, he seems mildly retarded.