History Series / GOODEATS

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* UnwantedAssistance: '''Don't say it!''' [[spoiler: Did someone call for a culinary anthropologist?]]

** In "School of Hard Nogs", Thing steals a small quantity of bourbon that Alton has ready for his egg nog recipe. Several minutes later, Alton sees a soused, hungover Thing. Alton see that Thing has "tied one on". [[spoiler: [[DontExplainTheJoke Literally, as Thing as a paper numeral "1" tied onto its index finger]].]]

** From "Don't be Chicken of Dumplings": As Alton discussed the origins of and differences between fluffy "swimmer" and flat "slicker" dumpling, he references ''Literature/{{Ivanhoe}}'' and ''Myth/RobinHood'', characters that Alton's lawyers are conveniently masquerading as. When Alton sees them both, he drops this line.

* GratuitousRussian: In "Flat is Beautiful 2" Deb Duchon describes herself as a "dietalog antropolog" to a Russian man who's suddenly shown up in Alton's kitchen when Alton is discussing Chicken Kiev (which, as Deb points out, is ''not'' actually Russian, despite sharing the name of a Russian city).

* DanBrowned: Veteran home brewers have accused Alton of this due to the Season 6 episode "True Brew III: Amber Waves". It got to the point that Alton issued a public apology, but what the veteran home brewers often forget is that [[TheWatson the episode was taking the perspective of a first-time home brewer]], and much of the advice Alton gives is also given by brewing shops to entry-level home brewers, so at worst, Alton was guilty of the beer equivalent of LiesToChildren.

In 2018, Brown [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOQ5F_uLXbs announced]] that ''Good Eats'' would return to the air on the [[ChannelHop Cooking Channel]]. To warm the audience up for the new round of shows, he revisited some classic episodes with updated techniques and approaches in ''Good Eats: Reloaded''. The revival, titled ''Good Eats: The Return'' ran from 2019 to 2021, with the final season becoming a web-exclusive available only on [=discovery+=]. When it concluded, Brown announced that it was the definitive end of all ''Good Eats''-branded programming.

Taking inspiration not only from its cooking show predecessors, but from gonzo kids' {{Science Show}}s like ''Series/BeakmansWorld'' and ''Series/BillNyeTheScienceGuy'', ''Good Eats'' blends informative lessons on cooking techniques and ingredients with comedy, chemistry lessons, field trips to factories and labs (''a la'' [[Series/MisterRogersNeighborhood Mister Rogers]]), special guests, and SitCom zaniness.

The show's host, Alton Brown, is also its creator, executive producer, producer, writer, and director. Brown holds degrees in the culinary arts and drama with a specialty in video production. Before becoming a TV chef, he worked as a cinematographer on {{music video}}s, most notably the one for "The One I Love" by Music/{{REM}}.

''Good Eats'' was shot primarily in and around Brown's adopted hometown of Atlanta, Georgia[[note]]Alton was born in UsefulNotes/LosAngeles, California[[/note]], and lasted from July 7, 1999, to February 10, 2012, in its original run along with three hour-long specials, making it the longest-running consecutive series on Creator/FoodNetwork (12 years) at the time. Cooking Channel, Food Network's sister channel, still airs reruns of the show about fifteen to twenty times a week to this day (including at least twice every weekday). A near-total compendium of episode guides and recipes have been compiled into three ''Good Eats'' companion books subtitled ''The Early Years'', ''The Middle Years'' and ''The Later Years''. In 2015, Brown announced that Netflix would be hosting a new ''Good Eats''-like project hosted by him; in 2017, he released a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ovc2Q-zdoyM teaser]] that all but announced that the project would either be a revival of ''Good Eats'' or something very close.

In October of 2018, Alton Brown released a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOQ5F_uLXbs teaser video]] announcing that ''Good Eats'' would be returning to the air on the [[ChannelHop Cooking Channel]]. To warm the audience up for the new round of shows, he revisited some classic episodes with updated techniques and approaches in ''Good Eats: Reloaded'', which premiered on Cooking Channel on October 15, 2018 (with a second season subsequently announced). The promo for the new series [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=na_euVR8R7Q can be found on Alton Brown's independent youtube channel.]] The revival, renamed ''Good Eats: The Return'', began airing on Food Network on August 25, 2019. The revival ended in 2021, with Brown announcing that it was also the definitive end of all ''Good Eats''-branded programming.

In October of 2018, Alton Brown released a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOQ5F_uLXbs teaser video]] announcing that ''Good Eats'' would be returning to the air on the [[ChannelHop Cooking Channel]]. To warm the audience up for the new round of shows, he revisited some classic episodes with updated techniques and approaches in ''Good Eats: Reloaded'', which premiered on Cooking Channel on October 15, 2018 (with a second season subsequently announced). The promo for the new series [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=na_euVR8R7Q can be found on Alton Brown's independent youtube channel.]] The revival, renamed ''Good Eats: The Return'', began airing on Food Network on August 25, 2019.

** W has had a bit of an interesting story arc; she started as something of a VirtualGhost, appearing on giant screens behind Alton and on microwave doors and so forth. Then she [[BecomeARealBoy becomes real]], managing the Bed Bath & Beyond where he shops. Then, apparently, he hires her into his organization, as she only shows up in a "lab" type of environment, testing and evaluating products.

* NoAnimalsWereHarmed: Notably averted in the lobster episode. Alton prepares to kill a live lobster with his knife (showing ''how'' somebody would go about killing a lobster in this fashion), then does the "more humane" method by chilling it in the refrigerator, then putting it in a steam pot, where he says it will die within 10 seconds.