It seems like you can’t have an online cooking show without a clear gimmick. You have to either be a child, take adventurous e-mail cooking requests, or be a pauper chef to reach even moderate success on the net, and Ctrl-Alt-Chicken is no different.

As one of the Revision3 network’s online shows, CAC has had multiple, albeit short, seasons since its start in early 2006. Heather Stewart and Alex Albrecht host the cooking comedy show where neither of the two can cook. Heather was a new addition to Revision3’s lineup, but Alex has been co-hosting the channel’s most popular show, Diggnation, since its inception in July 2005.

With how-to videos featuring scripted skits, graphics, and even the occasional animation, Ctrl-Alt-Chicken ranks among the best-edited cooking shows on the web. The purpose of CAC is to show that anyone can follow a recipe if he or she tries, so sometimes the hosts hit their mark and sometimes they don’t.

Episodes often last 15 to 20 minutes, range from beefstew to Baked Alaska, and consist of the two hosts acting in a variety of short skits, taking e-mail requests, making a few jokes, and getting down to business.   Recipes and directions are also laid out in writing with each episode in case you want to give it a shot at home.

One of the best parts about the shows are the scripted skits, and one of the best scripted skits is in the Manicotti episode. In the “lab,” “Karen” details the history of the tube shaped pasta dish, while the “doctor” recounts his brief stint as an obscure professional diver, which “Karen” suddenly finds incredibly interesting.

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Zach Jones
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London-based Australian couple Warren Murray and Leanne White, known on their site as Waz and Lenny, brought Crash Test Kitchen to the web with their first episode on April 8, 2005. The idea behind the site was to show what happens when non-professional chefs attempt their own cooking show where the mistakes and successes are presented with equal billing. As they say, there’s no “’here’s one we prepared earlier’ fakery,” meaning viewers see all the epicurean exploits in real time.

The exquisitely titled premiere episode “We Did It All for the Gnocchi!” captures the spirit of this vlog. As the hosts prepare their potato pasta, they get drowned out by the blender, display less than Oscar-worthy camerawork, refer to recipes that they found on a gourmet website, attempt Vanna White-style presentation with varying degrees of success, and complain about the cost of certain ingredients. From Tarte Tatin to beefstock from scratch, this is certainly no Emeril Lagasse cooking show, and that’s exactly why the audience tunes in.

Like any good cooking show, Waz and Lenny occasionally invite in some “expert” chefs to show off some specialties. When friend Dave makes a cheesecake, Laz is inspired enough to comment, “I’m starting to believe you know what you’re doing.” This is probably one of the most professional-looking recipes in the mix – except for the part where they all attack the mixing bowl with sticky fingers.

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Nicholas Mosquera
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Mestolando is produced by Claudia Baggiani, a native of Florence who has a love for food television, recipe websites, and above all, good Italian food. The site was launched in 2006.

With the help of her husband Brian, Baggiani posts video recipes of primarily tomato-based pasta sauces and meats. Most of the 3-5 minute videos are shot in Baggiani’s tidy kitchen and feature straightforward cooking techniques with surprisingly few ingredients. The only measurements she uses are “pinch” and “dash,” said in a comforting, accented voice, but she always gives a good estimate for cooking time. These are easy meals one could prepare in a very short amount of time. In addition to the video recipes, Baggiani offers a blog about her travels around Italy, general research on the history of Italian food, and tips for things like keeping artichokes fresh and what cut of roast beef to buy.

These recipes probably wouldn’t make Italian cooking look so easy if they weren’t in video form. Just the fact that I can watch someone produce a meal in real time, without everything being prepared beforehand, makes me a lot less terrified of cooking. I recommend the Carbonara: pancetta, parmesan and egg spaghetti. With a list of seven ingredients, this dish is totally doable.

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Kate Dundon
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Produced by Ziff Davis Media, Cranky Geeks first aired on DLTV in March 2006. It has since spawned its own website where it broadcasts half-hour episodes once a week. Panel discussions are led by John C. Dvorak, a journalist/broadcaster who has been writing for publications like PC Magazine since the 1980’s.

As Head Crank, he moderates the discussions with leading industry personalities, including CEOs, Veeps, and creators of major and minor companies in the tech world. Each week episodes are aired live, while downloads become available on the website within 24 hours in a variety of formats.

On Cranky Geeks, all the panelists are definitely geeks, and most of them are cranky, or at least that’s the vibe they give off as they debate topics like the future of blogging, Facebooking, and scraping. Guests include Craig Newmark, Kevin Rose, and other prolific web presences. All are clearly prepared for the show in advance, as evident by the photocopied “agendas” sitting in front of each of them, generally leading to well-thought discussions and debates.  Half-hour episodes are divided up by short breaks that contain information (such as the definition of a vocabulary word) and advertisements (assumedly as a way to support the site).

Topics cover big events in technology (Sweden’s Pirate Bay scandal), cool gadgets (USB guitar), and other web-worthy news (will the IRS tax Second Life?). Panelists aren’t afraid to take opposing viewpoints, which ups the drama factor and allows Dvorak to remain the neutral host. If a certain topic covered in the discussion seems more intriguing than others, or if a viewer is short on time, three individual segments (5-10 minutes each) can be viewed independently of the episode. Viewers can comment on individual episodes or follow links referred to in the broadcast to deepen their Cranky Geeks experience.

If you’re a fan of Valleywag, Gawker Media’s “tech gossip rag,” you might want to take a look at this episode with former-editor Nick Douglas on the panel from before he got axed and before he looked so shiny.

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Rebecca Halpin
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Cool Hunting started in February 2003 as a catalog project by Josh Rubin – whose online publishing company, Captain Lucas, also publishes Needled and Tropolism.  Since then, it has evolved into a major online resource for the latest and the greatest design-inspired clothing, technologies, house wares, furniture, automobiles, and more.

With three editors and a roster of hand-picked contributors, the blog profiles a wide variety of inventions, from bone-imitating chairs to unusual wall decorations. In December 2005, Cool Hunting added a weekly video series, produced by m ss ng p eces, to add some texture to its publication and take viewers to some of the most interesting design locales in the world.

The segments are condensed, un-narrated peeks into art shows, exhibits, musical collaborations, soccer, ice, and everything else that involves innovative design or can be looked at from a design perspective. Interviews are mixed with stylized footage from the events and video from various installations.

The remarkable berth of topics range from Amorphophallus Titanum, a sushi chef-turned-ice sculptor, Lucky Diamond Rich (a tattoo fiend who has no skin left without ink), and the surgical Irezumi style of tattoo art. The regular blog is also packed with articles about every facet of design culture including streetwear, architecture, travel, food, exercise, and much more.

The advantage that Cool Hunting has over magazines like GQ, W, and Flaunt is that its curators tend to focus on the more esoteric areas of the marketplace. Smaller boutiques can be discussed in the blog. Odd lifestyle features can be recorded for the vlog.

It’s not about brands and design houses, it’s about individuals who live and work with design. That’s something that puts this site above its product-obsessed competitors in design publishing.

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Rebecca Halpin
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Links on the Cooking With Rockstars homepage take users to individual pages for individual musicians, each containing a short bio, links to related webpages, a video interview (shot in locations ranging from tour buses to the rockers’ home kitchens), and a detailed recipe from the artist or band for viewers who want to try cooking the meals on their own. Robbins’ affable demeanor and casual tone lends itself well to the interviews, where she’s often able to get her subjects to go into considerable depth about personal culinary history, from the influence an Italian-American upbringing had on Sam Fogarino (Interpol) and his delicacies of choice to the vegetarian diet of Jenny Lewis (Rilo Kiley). Since Robbins often catches up with her subjects while they tour, concert footage gets edited into a majority of the vids. Like Fogarino, recent interviewees are indebted to their families: Ben Kweller offers a Latin American grilled chicken dish created by his uncle, while Rufus Wainwright serves up the secrets of mother Kate McGarrigle’s borsht. Robbins’ brother, writer/director/utility infielder Liam Lynch, even gets a spot. Being awesomely creative and artistic must run in the family.

Cooking With Rockstars is update about every two weeks and includes all sorts  of interesting rockstars. Jack Black drops his usual manic persona to impart the majesty of his invented Dorito Burrito, and Ben Gibbard (of Death Cab For Cutie and the Postal Service) claims his preference for utility over quality (peanut butter veggie sausage toast) informs his culinary choices. Not surprisingly, it’s a preference many of the interviewed rock stars seem to share.

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Michael Joshua Rowin
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On Halloween of 2006, FEARnet, a joint venture of Comcast, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Lionsgate, crawled from the primordial ooze to become the “first multiplatform horror network.” This means its content, dedicated to the horror genre, is available on its on-demand cable channel, mobile-devices and the website.

FEARnet.com features free shorts and web serials, as well as full-length streaming horror movies.  Comcast’s president of emerging networks, Diana Robina has ushered in top Hollywood talent  like Sam Raimi, director of the “Spiderman” and “Evil Dead” series, to produce original series for the horror-centric site.

FEARnet.com caters to the hardcore horror buff, offering original web serials like Blood Trails – a prequel of sorts to the graphic novel and vampire movie “30 Days of Night” – and Devil’s Trade – a story of ill events all relating to an accursed cross made from wood of the accursed ‘Devil’s Tree.’  Both shows are produced by Sam Raimi and Ghost House Pictures and run seven episodes apiece. This current emphasis on professional content makes FEARnet more a Hollywood promotional tool than a “YouTube for horror fans.”  The free streaming full-length movies are culled from less-than-popular films like Cupid or The Landlady.

User content is also available but does not seem to be featured or promoted. FEARnet users are referred to as “Victims” (take from that what you will) and can create their own profiles and uploads. This content ranges from fan montages of classic horror scenes to trailers of independent horror productions. Perhaps one day soon, the Victims will rise up in an orgy of digital blood and wrest control away from the corporate boogeymen.  Well…probably not, but it would make for a good horror flick!

Released throughout October 2007, the FEARnet series Home Haunts, hosted by Danielle Harris, features Halloween-readied houses across America bedecked with ghoulish decorations and sometimes even animatronics for the scariest night of the year.

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Greg Rock
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In May of 2006, Fred and Rebecca Gerendasy launched Cooking up a Story. Through their independent film company, Potter Productions, the duo had extensive experience with gastronomical subject matters, including two award-winning movies on the subject of BBQ – Now You’re Cookin’: Inside the World of Championship BBQ and BBQ Secrets: The Master Guide to Extraordinary BBQ Cookin’. With Cooking up a Story, they had a new goal in mind – to reach the gourmand who is as interested in the people behind the food’s preperation, as they are in the food itself. Rebecca, who credits her 25 years in the television news business as the reason for her concern with human-interest stories, directs the pieces. Episodes are meant to tie together cultural, personal, and gastronomical themes that the creators feel is lost in more celebrity-based cooking shows.

While the clips are not totally unlike something one might find on the Food Network, they do offer a distinctly intimate look at their subjects. Each episode is roughly six minutes in length, and covers one particular restaurant or subject. Don’t expect pieces on Zagat-rated locales, however. A fourth-generation sausage making family, a winery that specializes in winter production, a religious chocolatier, and a traveling barbeque chef round out some of the pieces you’ll find, all of them with a distinctly local feel. Each topic is topped off with a deleted “leftover” scene, man-on-the-street interview clips, and a preview of an upcoming episode. The site also includes a recipe archive and flickr albums that will whet your appetite.

The dedicated sausage making family of Portland, Oregon’s Otto’s Sausage Kitchen, is anachronistically intriguing. After you’ve witnessed the rather graphic sausage production on Cooking Up A Story, follow the link to the family’s own page. Aside from the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, it might just be the most advanced site dedicated to hot dogs you’ve ever seen.

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Nicholas Mosquera
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In 2004, Expo TV launched its initial website and video on-demand service. But by March 2005, it had expanded into digital cable and began its 24/7 television channel devoted solely to product reviews, purchasing tips, and consumer reports. Smaller mainstream companies like Bare Minerals and About.com began to broker deals for their products’ visibility on the channel. Cable providers like Adelphia Communications saw the network as a profitable opportunity to advertise products without having to sell traditional commercial time, since the sponsored product reviews are mixed with the unsolicited reviews which are usually sent in by viewers (consumer reports in the truest sense of the phrase).

While Expo TV’s television network combines original programming with videopinions (reports recorded and submitted by pleased and disgruntled consumers), the website’s content focuses entirely on videopinions submitted by members. The categories range  from Arts & Crafts, Baby & Kids, Health & Wellness and Clothing & Accessories to Cars, Office Products, Toys & Games, and Video Games & Players, and the ubiquitous Everything Else. Each category has several subcategories, which all contain an abundance of user-submitted videopinions, usually involving webcams with little range to their amateur qualiy. There isn’t anything you can’t find criticized or vaunted here, though the site is at its best when discussing items you can physically use like cars, exercise equipment, and electronics, so you can see them in action. It’s pointless to watch one video review of an album or a novel when you can go to almost any other retail website and find 20 to 50 written reviews of arguably better quality. Expo TV also has a forum for member feedback about the site, a blog for the Expo staff members to write their own product suggestions

If you’re looking to purchase any consumer product, the videos here are worth checking out.   More so than with written reviews, you really get the feeling that the reviewer was sincere (keep in mind they did go through the added effort of filming themselves to share his/her opinion) and you can easily gauge his/her credibility if he/she does or doesn’t perform a demo with the product to illustrate his/her point.

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Zach Jones
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Wanna take a road trip around North Carolina to satisfy that hankerin’ for music and cultural entertainment? I thought so. Be sure to stop by nTune.tv, a vlog devoted to North Carolina culture of all kinds that was started by Chris Daniel and John Glosson, former band mates in an Indie rock outfit called Waybetter, based out of Raleigh, North Carolina. The pair produces all of the clips, which range from 3 to 25 minutes long, with the help of cameraman/editor Matt Southers. Their first online posting, footage of a Halloween parade on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill, launched on November 13, 2006. Ever since, the site has posted clips at weekly to monthly intervals on nTune.tv.

nTune’s slogan is simply, “music.art.culture.” The site focuses primarily on the North Carolina music scene spanning the entire state from “the beaches to the Appalachian Mountains” with videos of concert clips interspersed with interviews, adding no editorial voice.  Instead, the videos let the bands speak for themselves, personally and musically, which allows both locals and out-of-state viewers to learn about these artists and enjoy the full live songs.

The genres are usually rock oriented, ranging from the Rockabilly and folk styles of The Bo-Stevens and the Carolina Chocolate Drops to the indie rock sounds of The Never and Bombadil. Most of the videos come straight from central North Carolina’s music venues, such as Chapel Hill’s Local 506, the ArtsCenter in Carrboro, and the Blind Tiger in Greensboro. The Featured Artist page also provides links to the nTune recommended performers’ websites, such as The Wells Family, literally a family of folk musicians, and Tom Maxwell, formerly of the Squirrel Nut Zippers.

nTune shines when it chronicles other North Carolinian cultural happenings, such as the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games, a Scottish festival featuring traditional drums and bagpipes and caber tossing. On the other side of the cultural spectrum is an interview with John Hitchcock, owner of Parts Unknown, a comic book shop in Greensboro. For some historical background, don’t miss the Battle of Guilford Courthouse clip, where a costumed member of the Revolutionary era Virginia regiment will assure you that his historic self did indeed wear a red coat, despite the coat-color-biased calls of the equestrian Paul Revere.

For a first taste of the site, take a look at the video of indie group Chuck Folds Five, featuring the younger brother of indie rocker Ben Folds, former leader of Ben Folds Five. In a laundromat interview, Chuck Folds chronicles the band’s journey from cover band to composers in their own right, and reveals a mutiny of both fans and potential band members due to the band’s fraternal-invoking name. Another example of local Carolina culture with national resonance on nTune.tv.

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Devin Delliquanti
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Launched on June 13, 2005, CommandN is the result of the collaboration of four Toronto-based bloggers – Amber MacArthur, Mike Lazazzera, Jeff MacArthur, and Brian McKechnie. Each brings his/her own specialty, like television news experience, a computer science degree, and Final Cut Pro certification, to weekly episodes that highlight and discuss all things web and tech.

Episodes runs roughly ten minutes long and are divided into several reliably informative segments split between the four reliably informative vloggers. Each installment is usually introduced by one of the interview subjects (which, depending on the episode, may or may not be a puppet) and proceed to Amber, Mike, Jeff, and Brian’s segments, shot with just a camera, a mic, and some lighting when necessary – it usually is necessary since shows are filmed on locations ranging from storefronts to parking lots.

“Headlines” recaps the top technology news from the previous week. “Webpicks” suggests the websites that currently have the creator excited. “Techtips” is a how-to or preview. Product reviews follow in “Hotstuff.” “Insite” provides web development suggestions. The “Spotlight” is a profile of or interview with someone making those headlines. And finally, viewers’ questions are answered in “Inbox.”

If you’re not already checking out sites like Digg or Slashdot daily, this vlog could provide just enough for your tech fix. Take episode 71, for instance, which discusses everything from censor-free software for countries with limited to no access to websites deemed explicit by their respective governments, to suggestions on audio podcasting, and the history of buttons.

All of these are in addition to the show’s usual tech news, interviews, and recommendations. The sheer amount of genuinely stimulating original content here is what separates this vlog from the typical techie lot.

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Nicholas Mosquera
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Written, directed, and produced in a small Los Angeles living room, EpicFu, formerly JetSet Show, was created in June 2006 by the independent vlogging team at Smashface Productions, which is operated by two of the show’s executive producers Zadi Diaz and Steve Woolf. Its creators say the vlog is for “the happily immature person in all of us.” That used to mean a show geared towards teens, but now the show is merely teen-oriented, offering an array of cool and unusual finds in each episode that would appeal to any age group. With today’s savvy youth culture in mind, the show features interesting subject matter while attempting to create an online community of intelligent, discerning teen viewers.

What’s new with robot tech? How do you get to be a professional videogamer? Who’s hot in martial arts? With subjects ranging from bottle rockets and Harry Potter widgets to lists of all-time bestselling musicians and Che Guevara regression, Jet Set’s weekly episodes explore a broad range of material with a mix of interviews, history lessons, short films, puppet newscasts, instructional demonstrations, vintage clips, and documentary-type reportage. Teen vloggers like Shauna from Scriggity and Josh from Hey Josh volunteer their vlogs to be segmented and featured on the show as correspondent segments. Original related articles are occasionally posted along with the usual list of topical links after each episode.

The interviews, like this one with the EMC Monkeys, are the best. The Monkeys are a martial arts troupe that combines traditional moves with acrobatics and physical comedy. Another noteworthy interview is the one with Fatality, a professional gamer. They’re engaging, atypical, and short enough for the ADD Generation to enjoy in its desk chairs.

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Maureen Nolan
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