Comments on: I Know Why Gardening Shows Fail

By: Hanna

Hanna — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 22:26:53 +0000

Gary – Gary Allen still does a peice on a show called ‘Smart Gardening’. I like him and his hat.

As far as cooking being more universal…

While I can appreciate that idea, the fact is, that it is not really. Surveys have shown that many people who watch cooking shows don’t cook at all, let alone cook what is being done on the show. The number of people who eat out rather than cook is rising rapidly. Cooking (especially the kind of cooking you see on cooking shows)is fast becoming a hobby for those who have the time, much like gardening.

Gardening is also related to eating. Things must grow before you eat them. Farmers grow, resturants cook yet cooking shows are still more popular.

It’s not the cooking but the eating that people enjoy. That still doesn’t answer why people like to watch cooking shows. Cooking is hard work and people just don’t do it.

Cooking shows have really only in the past decade come into their cult like status. Cooking has been made fun. A kind of foreplay to the act of eating. Gardening shows severly lack that element of fun.

By: Aiyana

Aiyana — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 19:14:10 +0000

Paul James is just silly enough to keep my attention, even if the content is not relevant to me. Landscaper’s Challenge is great because it deals with many budget ranges and locales. I don’t watch some garden/landscape shows because when they set out to transform a garden with $500, they end up with something that looks cheap and impractical.
Everyone has to eat, but not everyone gardens, or even cares what their landscape looks like. Many Gen-xers in my part of the country don’t even bother to landscape their fenced-in back yards due to lack of funds, and the only reason the front is done is that it’s included in the purchase package. In the whole scheme of things, gardening is far down on the list of important life issues.
aiyana

By: Gary

Gary — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 15:55:31 +0000

The guy from Florida was Gary Alan. I forget the name of his show. I don’t think it’s on anymore, which is a shame. Paul James is great!

By: ewa

ewa — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 05:06:16 +0000

Why cooking is more popular? eating concerns everyone – none of us can survive wihout it. Sometimes eating might be boring – if we eat all the time same meals, not a different variety. People search for new recipies to get out of the box they sit in. At the same time they can get creative while cooking.
Gardening? Only half of the population is doing any gardening – very often they treat it as duty (like cleaning the house) without getting passionate about it.
That’s the main reason – less interest caused by smaller number of potential viewers. … as everything is more and more commercial around… less potential profitability.
greetings,

By: Chris

Chris — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 17:43:15 +0000

Heh, is it a coincidence you picked 2 of my favorite programs? I got Tivo Season passes for both GBTY and Good Eats. I also like Alton on Iron Chef, he makes that show.

However… did you ever see Paul James’ cooking show? “Home Grown Cooking” it was short lived and very bad. He was basically stuck behind a counter with an apron on for the entire episode.