TVSquad

Perhaps it's unfair to prejudge, but I am really, really disappointed in the Food Network. The announcement that they are planning a new series that involves competitive eating called Eat the Clock sounds like a sell-out.

It sounds like Food Network is following in the footsteps of classy shows like Hurl and Fear Factor. I expect better from the network that espouses to be about the best in food and cooking, not how fast you can jam it down your throat.

The same company that's behind Rachael Ray's Tasty Travels, Pie Town Productions, has cooked up Eat the Clock. They're comparing it to The Amazing Race, but with eating contests thrown up -- I mean, in. There will be travel involved, which relates to Rachael's travel show. Maybe they'll have Rachael try her gullet at consuming mass quantities. (Oh wait, that's the Coneheads.)

It's interesting that the network mentions The Amazing Race in the description of the show. Occasionally TAR will put an eating challenge in the show, like one year when contestants had to eat a Chicago deep dish pizza completely before proceeding to the pit stop. But that was just one challenge. TAR has at the most two eating challenges per race. Eat the Clock purports to be all about the eating.

Eat has yet to shoot a pilot, but Food Network is hoping for an early 2009 debut. Like I said, maybe I should wait to see the show before writing it off. However, on paper, Eat the Clock is antithetical to the enjoyment and celebration of food. What TV chef will want to be attached to this project?

It seems all wrong for Food Network. Competition is one thing -- I can appreciate Iron Chef America and Food Network Challenges -- but speed eating or volume eating doesn't fit the Food Network recipe. What do you think?