Great Reality-Based Television

I know, I know. It's an oxymoron. Not so, when you consider that the Survivor-style reality shows are only a subgenre of the non-fiction type. Well, here we go.

Great Reality-Based Television

• Iron Chef: The original, of course. My favorite was Ota ("Fukui-san!"), but man, everyone was great. Fukui-san, of course, but also the chefs themselves (especially my favorite, Sakai), the notorious Chairman Kaga (mmm, bell peppers), and our favorite rotating airhead actress ("Mmm, this is so good! It just tastes like...I don't know but mmm!"). Also the fortune teller. What was she doing there again?

• Mythbusters: Shows like this remind me that--oh my gosh--I used to like science! Actually, I used to love science (particularly physics--I know.) until Yale ruined that one. Thanks Yale. But Mythbusters is great. I get to learn all sorts of fun stuff and use it against my parents ("No, mommy, shaving does NOT make hair grow back thicker") and my boyfriend ("Yes, Carlos, there IS poop in the air"). Jamie and Adam are wonderful and insane, but the show definitely dropped in quality after they let "Team Pretty" (the B team of Kari, Tory, and-*shudder*-Grant) do major mythbusting projects.
  

• Project Runway: Yes, lately the producers have been upping the "drama" ante, but the show for the most part is still all about design. And Nina Garcia being an uber-bitch, bless her soul. Oh. And Tim Gunn. I want to be his BFF. (ps Check out Project RunGay, a hilarious blog written by two fabulously gay guys. Love it.)
  

• What Not to Wear: One of my popular vices. Sue me. Listen, everyone: you can be progressive and for social justice and whatever and a nerd who doesn't care what other people think and still like this show. I view it as a jappy New York girl (gotta love em!) and a puppyish gay boy giving cultural capital to the underprivileged dressers of the world. Yes, sometimes it's all about Nick Arrojo's hairstyles, but the clothes do wonders, too. My only complaint about the show is that once in awhile you get bored with it, as there are usually only three kinds of bad dressers: the outrageous, the slutty, and the boring. But those of you who don't like it because Stacey and Clinton mock the subject of the episode before making them glamorous probably have some fashion problems of your own...

Good Reality-Based Television

• Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations: I like this show a lot. It's on the Travel Channel, so you've never seen it. Basically, great chef Anthony Bourdain (you know he's great because his restaurant is too expensive for me) travels around the world going on wacky adventures to random off-the-beaten-track places to find good food and new recipes. I'm a travel nerd even though I don't actually travel often. That is, I'm a Google Earther, a Lonely Planeter, and a Travel Channeler. So that's part of the reason I watch. But the main reason is Bourdain's cynical sense of humor. He's a good host to hang out with.
  

• Design on a Dime: You may already know that I am, or at least used to be, a huge HGTV fan. But I picked only one HGTV show, because it's my favorite. They design a room for very little money, and it is always amazing. They make it look like even you can do it!

• The Dog Whisperer: Cesar Millan, why, with your broken English (I think he's faking) and accent do you not pronounce your name Mee-yan? Anyway, Cesar Millan goes around rehabilitating dogs and training owners. Every episode is basically the same: the dog needs rules, boundaries, and expectations; the owners need to be leaders of the pack. But it's always fun and sometimes (especially with chihuahuas and neurotic owners) hilarious.
  

• Hell's Kitchen: This show was silly and had too much drama and subjectivity built into it (there's only one judge, and he seems to choose based on either ratings or boobies). But I still watched. Damn you, television!

• I Love the [insert decade here]: I got to hand it to VH1 here. They take a bunch of shitty comedians and Weird Al (and sometimes Kermit the Frog) and have them rant in a very contrived way about various cultural artifacts. And then I laugh really hard unintentionally.
  

• Nova: I can't call it Great because I haven't seen all of it, but there are some spectacular episodes.

• and Scientific American Frontiers: Speaking of shows that are great science shows that I haven't seen all of... But this one features my love Alan Alda, which makes it all the more fun.