Monday, June 30, 2008

Some of the Best Shows...

...are on Travel and Living, and while Indian television degenerates into the senseless and shameless amalgamation of prime time slander of juveniles into endless soaps, T&L will offer you some absolutely wonderful programs that will entertain, excite and educate you at the same time!

Check out Overhauled, a beautiful program where they "steal" an old car from the "victim", then spend a week turning into some of the hottest wheels on the planet. The transformation is amazing, and it's such a joy to see the pride and commitment shown by the team - and the happiness it brings to the lives of the "victims". Just awesome. And you know what's the best part? The hardware that goes into the car, and the companies that provide them, go for subtle or very passive advertising - none of the shamless promotions that could have made such programs a boring extended TV commercial!

Or "While You Were Away" and "Monster House" - transformations of simple abodes into beautiful designer homes. Again, the key principle - do it for someone else, do it quick, and do it beautiful!

It's really all about awesome creativity, and the pure pleasure of doing something for someone else!

For a different flavour, check out the travel shows - from Six Degrees to Lonely Planet, the programs bring you the flavours and experiences of some really beautiful places around the world, in the comfort of your drawing room. The experience is so rich, trust me, at times, I have actually smelt the aromas and smells, and felt the chill and rain on my face!

Or another of my favourites, Amazing Vacation Homes - it's about beautiful houses, in beautiful locations. Such an inspiration! And for the engineering or architecture minded, it's just such a tremendous learning experience!

I wish we had more such shows from India... and yes, NDTV Good Times may just be the channel to track in the future...

1 comment:

Harsha Kumar said...

Adding a few more:

Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations. Anthony's character truly oozes out in his descriptions of the places he visits and the food he eats. His script is without a doubt the best part in the show.

Nigella Bites: Watching her cook up some of the most delectable recipies and then seeing her enjoy it can make anyone give up her diet!

Man Vs Food: I have really started enjoying this show. Centres around a foodie who goes from place to place trying to eat the largest or the spiciest of meals in the shortest time frame.

Rachel Allen: Bake, Hell's kitchen. America the Wright Way - I can go on and on.. I feast on Travel and Living :)

AXN is also emerging as an interesting channel these days with shows like So you think you can dance, Numbers, Top Chef..