I watched "Iron Chef America" last night on the Food Network. I like the regular Iron Chef. But what makes it fun to watch is the foreign-ness of it. The dubbing. The deference of the chefs and the judges. The unusual ingredients and dishes. The campiness of it all. And what Food Network has done for Iron Chef America is stripped all of those elements out so we're left with just another cooking show. It doesn't have the same feel. It's a demonstration in how to destroy compelling TV by tweaking. I mean, it's not an awful show. But Iron Chef transcends being a food show and is interesting on sheer entertainment value. Iron Chef America is not. Someone at the Food Network apparently thought that Iron Chef worked because people care about the food. I think that's wrong. Iron Chef works because it's a glimpse into a different culture. Iron Chef America is not. Although I might imagine that Japanese-dubbed versions of it might work in Japan... maybe not....