Today we were in the studio audience of "Emeril Live." It was kind of interesting to see how these things work. Among other things, there is a professional rabble-rouser who tells depressingly slick jokes to try and get the audience all revved up. The commercial breaks are very very long, and the band plays a crucial role in getting the audience through them. At no point did I feel like the person jollying up the crowd found any actual enjoyment in the presence of the great unwashed.
The food looked okay, most of it being of the Triple Bypass variety. Emeril used ham hocks, but didn't explain how to serve them (I just cooked one and ended up throwing it away after a half-hearted attempt to decide which parts were edible—of course most of the good stuff had already cooked into the soup.) I didn't sample the food (which was a relief), but somehow the whole experience served up a super-sized portion of existential ennui.
