John's Guilty Pleasures - TV Edition

The fact of the matter is, I watch a lot of television, probably too much to be honest but hey...it's a fun little hobby and TV always helps me to unwind after a long day. But one thing I rarely talk about, are the shows that I find to be guilty pleasures, the ones you know you watch simply for the fun of it because a show is just that silly or that crazy and well, you've heard from the entire rest of the staff on their guilty pleasures television wise, so it's high time I told you about mine. 

Hell's Kitchen/Kitchen Nightmares
I have to admit that I can't get enough of shows with Gordon Ramsay in them and I make it a point to tune in as often as possible for his two "cooking" shows. I love Hell's Kitchen simply because it is one of the craziest things I have ever seen. The man is relentless in making sure his teams deliver and it's incredible to see him not only fly off the handle with creative insults and powerhouse tirades, but the level of perfection he expects is almost out of this world and well...this is a show that sucks you in for wild reasons. On one hand, you root for the blue and red kitchens to deliver on dinner service because you don't want to see Ramsey rip them to shreds...but on the other hand, you're waiting anxiously to see who screws up because not even the drill sergeant from Full Metal Jacket is as brutal and creative with his insults as Gordon is. 

But, if I'm not in the mood for a pressure cooker environment (see what I did there?) I tune into Kitchen Nightmares instead because it does feature a low key Gordon Ramsay and well...it's title is spot on. We all go out to dinner on a regular basis but we never think about the inner workings of the restaurants we visit and this show makes you think you should when you see some of the awful and nightmarish food served up and some of the crazy owners out there as well. This is one I watch simply for the wow factor because the things I've seen on this show are absolutely breathtaking...in the wrong kind of way and really, this show has that train wreck factor...where you know you want to look away but you can't.

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Man vs. Food
I am noticing a theme here that I watch a lot of shows on the side that revolve around restaurants and eating. I'm okay with this. It's a little known fact that I love to cook when I actually have time and these shows motivate that in their own twisted little way, but this show...well it appeals to my competitive side and my chef side since how can you go wrong with a show that features great eats, recipes and oh yeah...an eating competition? The answer is you cannot and it's amazing to see the tasty places that Adam visits across the country and it's more amazing to see him eat so much freaking food. The dude's a champ, seriously.

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It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
I don't care what anyone says, inappropriate humor is and will always be hilarious and there is no show that embodies this better than Sunny. The characters are horrible people and they do incredibly crazy things...and it's beyond hilarious. I mean seriously, the jokes in this show are nothing short of genius, to the point where I own every season on disc, something I rarely do and quite frankly, it's the only comedy I've ever seen where I have to pause it on my DVR or DVD player to get all the tear filled laughs out before moving on. So far, "The Nightman Cometh" holds the pausing record at eight times. In fact this is truly one of my favorite shows out there and a great way to unwind from a stressful and wild week.

So there you have it, just a few of the guilty pleasures I indulge in when it comes to television and I'll probably talk about a few more coming up here because let's be honest...every single person's list of guilty pleasures is a big one whether we like it or not. Now if you'll excuse me, the new season of Hell's Kitchen is on tonight and I feel the need to watch this week's Sunny one more time before it airs...until next time.  

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