Changes to Good Eats?

[logic88]

I hadn't watched any episodes of Good Eats for awhile but saw one on potatoes this weekend. Did they change the format recently? The "look" (lighting, framing, etc.) of the show is different and the swooping camera angles are annoying.

And "W" seems to be gone, to be replaced by some forgettable generic gadget person.

Did Food Network or Alton Brown ever give any explanations for the changes?

[supasta]

I noticed that as well, however the one from the other night "Coconut Cake Revival" was of true Good Eats form. The episode in question is "This Spud's for You". It did seem odd, like it was a very old episode, but the info said it was a new one.

ETA: It was an old episode.
http://www.goodeatsfanpage.com/Season1/EA1A02.htm

[logic88]

Ah, thanks, no wonder it looked so different. I guess I should have noticed that Alton looked 8 years younger... :)

[GoHalos]

I think the show does look different now than it did a couple of years ago. I think that it may something to do with him shooting the later episodes in hd.

[doom1701]

I think the show does look different now than it did a couple of years ago. I think that it may something to do with him shooting the later episodes in hd.

There is also the changes to the set. They went from filming in a real kitchen (according to Wikipedia, Alton's mother in law's house), to a real kitchen in a house the producers built more or less for the show, to a more or less duplicate of that kitchen built on a soundstage. There is a different feel between the real kitchens and the set.

The show tends to be pretty experimental, so seeing a different filming method occasionally isn't surprising at all.