EMN Programming Guide – Live Action TV

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Antiques Roadshow
Year: 1987 (2020)
Synopsis: Relaxing UK show where people bring antiques, old photos, and heirlooms to appraisers to determine their worth and their stories.
EMN Notes: A recent addition to the channel, this was a show that came out of nowhere for me. One day I turned on Pluto TV while in a bad mood and watched a marathon of episodes of this show. It soothed the soul with sweet stories about priceless artifacts and personal heirlooms, and really drove my bad mood away. It also, like certain other pieces of media on this channel, made me remember my childhood in England and filled a hole in my heart I don’t often remember I have. It’s a lovely time, really, incredibly relaxing.


Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction
Year: 1997
Synopsis: Johnathan Frakes presents to you tales of the paranormal, criminal, and legendary. It’s up to you to decide whether what you hear is fact…or fiction?
EMN Notes: This show is a rip-roaring delight. It’s utter nonsense. It never actually tells you the true stories some of these little Twilight Zone-esque vignettes are actually based on. It’ll just tell you a story about a haunted TV and say “Yeah, that one was true”. Part of the fun is trying to guess which one they’ll pretend is true and which one they’ll fabricate, and you’re almost never right. Also, Johnathan Frakes as host is way too funny with his suave-yet-smug demeanor. Just a wonderful, wonderful time.


Columbo
Year: 1968
Synopsis: A rumpled detective faffs about when trying to solve murders but he always, always gets his man.
EMN Notes: This show just blindsided us when we added it to EMN Mystery. It’s got the grit of a good 70s movie which I adore with the humor and comfort of a good Monk episode. It’s not quite on Monk’s level, but it’s relaxing and slow-paced, and you really want to see what Columbo gets into and how he always manages to capture the crook. The episode that sold me was one involving a wine taster unknowingly drinking his own tainted wine in a trap that Columbo set up, only to realize his foolish mistake in the end. Just sublime stuff. And one more thing…Columbo himself is just great fun to imitate.


Cunk on Britain/Cunk on Earth
Year: 2018/2022
Synopsis: Philomena Cunk travels the globe asking the hard questions about our world that no one else has had the courage to ask.
EMN Notes: This show is absolutely hilarious. There’s real appeal to mixing in this show, a satirical history documentary that presents itself completely seriously, with other actual documentaries and reality shows on this channel. I can only imagine someone unfamiliar with this show tuning in and being completely hoodwinked by it until Cunk starts asking weirder and weirder questions to the scientists she interviews. It’s fantastic stuff.


Dad’s Army
Year: 1968
Synopsis: During World War 2, old men from Walmington-On-Sea form the Home Guard, a platoon devoted to protecting their little English village.
EMN Notes: When I was a child and visiting my Nan in England, this was something we would always bond over. She grew up during World War 2, and had all the tapes of this television show, as well as all the taped episodes of the radio show. Not only were they fun to watch with her as she told us stories about evacuating during the war, they were also devilishly funny with incredible comic timing, a hilarious cast of characters with their own catchphrases, and a sense of humor that could be quiet and subtle or uproarious and clever. There’s not a thing about this show that doesn’t bring me comfort, joy, and laughter in moments I need it most. This is one of my connections to Nan I still have, and I’m glad to have it and use it to remember the good times we shared.


Diners, Drive-Ins, & Dives
Year: 2007
Synopsis: Flashy celebrity chef Guy Fieri travels around the US looking for local restaurants that serve gourmet grub.
EMN Notes: One of my consistent favorite memories at anime conventions, without fail, is coming back to the hotel room after a long day and turning on the TV because there almost always will be an episode of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives on. When designing EMN, something Mandy and I originally agreed on was that in a sense we wanted the original channel to feel like turning on the TV at an anime convention. This show was essential, and it helps that I just like it! I like it a lot. Guy Fieri is fun and I want to see him eat crazy-looking food.


Dragula: Titans
Year: 2022
Synopsis: The demonic drag queens The Boulet Brothers collect an all-star cast of cross-dressing creatures and put them through hellish challenges.
EMN Notes: Despite being a drag-loving queer, I was never into Drag Race. It turns out, in order to get me into a wild dramatic drag reality show, you just need to make it sleazy, bloody, and kill the contestants at the end! This show is fantastic in general, with Titans being a great selection of memorable contestants in all new challenges. It’s a great horror piece, it’s dramatic and silly, and, yes, they do horror executions. This is so thrilling and fun.


Eyewitness
Year: 1994
Synopsis: Relaxing educational program exploring scientific topics with the help of archive footage, primitive CGI, and a white void.
EMN Notes: A staple of classrooms everywhere, this show is such fun to watch. It’s relaxing like a nature documentary, with fun and artistic visuals and editing and a soothing voice narrating it all. It evokes images of a TV on a cart and the music is wonderful. The theme song will get stuck in your head.


Flight of the Conchords
Year: 2007
Synopsis: A folk rock band from New Zealand travels to New York looking for fame and fortune.
EMN Notes: This show is the origin of one of my favorite pages on the internet, Hurt Feelins. It has a relaxed and very funny atmosphere, clever jokes, a fantastically-talented cast, and it allows us to add more music and more sitcoms to the channel with something unique. It doesn’t hurt that the whole thing feels like it was shot on a toaster, giving it a pleasant lo-fi vibe.


Fuck, That’s Delicious
Year: 2016
Synopsis: Rapper and chef Action Bronson travels all around the world holding concerts, looking for local eats, and hanging out with his crew.
EMN Notes: Originally I checked this show out because I thought the title and concept were funny. What I found was a show told exclusively through Action Bronson and his friend’s words, a relaxed and easygoing show about music, food, and life. It’s not really a food show, and I guess it’s something of a travel show, but more than anything it’s a show that lets you kick back and take a deep breath, a show that invites you to look around this bright, beautiful world and look into different cultures through food in a way that doesn’t try to be overly smart or uptight. Action Bronson is here for a good time and a good meal, and you’re along for the ride. I feel like I’ve had a massage while on vacation after seeing an episode of this show.


GameCenter CX
Year: 2003
Synopsis: Japanese comedian Shinya Arino attempts to complete a video game within a day, despite the fact that he’s not very good at video games.
EMN Notes: When I think of shows that always cheer me up, this one is at the top of my list. I love this show dearly because of how funny Arino is, how fun it is to see him try to beat games, and because it’s loaded with small travel segments of him visiting arcades and playing other games and learning fun facts about video games released in Japan. I have so many amazing memories of watching this show in college and falling in love with how it is produced, with Arino and the entire cast, and I really wish it could get distributed here outside of the rather abysmal attempt at localizing it. It’s so sweet and so charming and such genuinely good vibes.


Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace
Year: 2004
Synopsis: In the 1980s, renowned horror author Garth Marenghi produced, wrote, directed, and acted in a lost television series revolving around supernatural goings-on at a hospital. This is all that could be recovered.
EMN Notes: I knew of this show because of a line in the first episode that Super Beard Bros. would constantly quote, but it wasn’t until I was listening to a podcast about Flash animation and heard this compared to Dangeresque that I knew I had to watch it. Mandy and I sat down after a difficult day to watch an episode, and soon we were utterly beside ourselves with laughter. It truly understands bad television and bad writing, and before the week was out we had binged all six episodes. Much like My Brother, My Brother, And Me, it’s tragically short, but it’s loaded with so many memorable lines, moments, and quotes that I could watch it constantly and laugh every time.


Good Eats
Year: 1999
Synopsis: Informative and entertaining food show that dives into the science behind how to cook using things you might have laying around the house.
EMN Notes: Growing up, I loved the Food Network. It and HGTV were on a lot in my house and I always really enjoyed the more offbeat and informative shows over traditional cooking shows or competitions. This was one of my favorites, a wonderfully funny and eccentric show with a lightning pace that broke down the science of why we cook and how we cook, breaking down cooking utensils and traditional pantry staples into fun adventures that you could do anything with. It’s a show built on wonder, and I still feel like I learn something new whenever it comes on.


How It’s Made
Year: 2001
Synopsis: A look into how things from our every day lives are made, with footage straight from the factories.
EMN Notes: This show is so fun and so chill. It’s just nice to heard about planks of wood or Christmas trees or ice cream bars or bowling balls and see all the steps it takes to go from raw material to the finished product. It’s an incredibly relaxing show, as the visuals are all the creative process and the narrators are always very soothing. It’s a wonderful background noise show, especially if you’re tired.


I Think You Should Leave With Tim Robinson
Year: 2019
Synopsis: A sketch show often featuring Tim Robinson playing some of the most bizarre and deranged little guys you’ll ever see on your screen.
EMN Notes: This show is a laugh-a-minute, mostly due to how utterly bizarre and off-the-wall the escalation of every gag can get. I don’t think I’ve laughed harder at a show than when in the middle of a completely normal doggy door commercial it pivots hard left and becomes this bizarre rant about Tim’s neighbor. This show just keeps going full tilt at all times, taking normal social situations and making them completely bonkers. It has so many lines I don’t think I’ll ever forget because of how hilariously they’re delivered. I’m gonna kill you, Driving Crooner!!


Iron Chef
Year: 1993
Synopsis: Japan’s three greatest chefs take on all challengers in timed cooking battles, all featuring a different secret ingredient.
EMN Notes: The original kitchen showdown is still the best. This is such a fun, dramatic show. I love the whole idea of splitting the three chefs into their specialties, and it’s so amazing to see the crazy, creative dishes that get served that incorporate the surprise ingredient. It’s high stakes competition with a touch of class and it’s just so much fun. You really get into a zone when it airs, something between a trance and pure excitement where everything is as high-stakes as this cooking competition. It’s great.


Monk
Year: 2002
Synopsis: A detective consultant with OCD solves murder mysteries using his keen powers of observation and ability to know when things feel out-of-place.
EMN Notes: I grew up loving this show because I loved murder mysteries and still do. Now that I’m older, this is one of my comfort shows. The music is so relaxing, the mysteries are all so interesting, and it’s fun to see Monk go out into the world and solve some crimes and do his thing. Even if the mysteries aren’t all great, it captures the drama and humor and fun of something like an Ace Attorney case, and some of the later seasons have culprits that are almost as good in terms of sheer character and villainy. I think, unfortunately, the marketing and humorous nature of the show can make you feel like Monk is going to be the butt of a joke in an ableist manner, but in the show proper he’s treated well and for me I actually find it quite soothing. This is a man who is griefstricken and struggling with his disabilities that have only gotten worse due to trauma, and whether Tony Shalhoub or the writers realized it have created a character with a lot of non-OCD symptoms that I recognize in myself regarding my own disabilities. I love the episodes that really treat Monk’s trauma and disability with real heart and class and while it’s a bit escapist and oversimplified there’s a quiet comfort there for me. This show is lovely to me, it really is.


My Brother, My Brother, & Me
Year: 2017
Synopsis: Three brothers solve esoteric problems sent in by viewers and dive deep to answer the questions no one else is answering.
EMN Notes: I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again and I’ll say it over and over and over: it is criminal that this show only has six episodes. This is hands down one of the funniest shows I’ve ever seen, with the McElroys doing absolutely wild stunts like starting a cult, calling the Knights Templar, talking to paranormal investigators, or annoying the mayor of Huntington. I laugh out loud every single time I remember the scene where Griffin decides that the number one way to connect with a teen audience is to perfect the Vine bottle flip and so before he enters a classroom he just tosses around twenty water bottles into the room one at a time and doesn’t land a single one. I’ve seen each episode so many times and they always crack me up. Seriously, why hasn’t any other streaming platform picked this up?


Mythbusters
Year: 2003
Synopsis: Two Hollywood effects experts and their build team get together to take urban legends and old wives’ tales and put them to the test.
EMN Notes: There’s nothing like Mythbusters and there will never be anything like Mythbusters. This show was all over the place in my youth, and I was so happy about it. It’s so fun and upbeat and exciting to see Adam, Jamie, and the build team test out urban legends and myths and determine whether or not they’re plausible. I used to love going to the old Snopes website back when it was used to determine the authenticity of chain letters and urban myths, and this was a whole show that used crazy special effects, science, and stunts to do just that. IT’s so easy to lose yourself in this show, and by virtue of it you can lose yourself in EMN. A wonderful head-clearer.


Our Flag Means Death
Year: 2022
Synopsis: A wealthy aristocrat sets sail on the high seas, looking to bring a new gentlemanly form of piracy to the world.
EMN Notes: What makes this show so special is how touched with sadness at its edges it is. It’s funny, certainly, magnificently so, and it’s exciting and fun and swashbuckling and all that, but it dares to explore a world of high camp and queerness without shying away from the loneliness and isolation that comes with it. It’s frustrating that it was canceled after a second season, because it was well-received for a reason. Still, it lives on in reruns on EMN.


Parks & Recreation
Year: 2009
Synopsis: A chipper government worker just wants to do what she can to make her little hometown the best it can be.
EMN Notes: Starting with season 2, this show becomes one of the most consistently-funny and sweet sitcoms I’ve ever watched. Honestly, I’m amazed it took us until our fourth annual update to add it. I’m not sure what was stopping us other than a vague worry it would make EMN Stand-Up less special somehow. I have so many great memories watching the final season as it aired, and this show has the tendency to consistently surprise me by reminding me just how much I enjoyed it. Hopefully its presence on the channel also brings some balance with a few of the other longer shows we have added.


Pawn Stars
Year: 2009
Synopsis: A family of Pawn Shop owners haggle over the weird and wonderful items customers try to sell to them.
EMN Notes: Shortly after my Antiques Roadshow experience up there, Mandy made a joke about how the US saw it and made Pawn Stars. One day, when we were feeling incredibly down, we went to Netflix and turned on an episode of this show because it was there. From there, our lives changed for the better. This show is both incredibly dumb and incredibly fun. It’s basically a sitcom pretending to be a reality show. People bring in cool items to sell and Rick or one of the other memebers of the shop try and haggle a price and take it off their hands. The banter is goofy and the items themselves are usually genuinely interesting, especially when they get into restorations and bootlegging, but the whole thing is presented in such a silly over-the-top manner that you can’t help but get swept up in the glitz and glamor of it all. This show cracks me up and cheers me up constantly. It’s the kind of show that you’re invested in before you know it. I’m so glad we found it.


Penn & Teller: Fool Us
Year: 2011
Synopsis: Some of the world’s hottest young magicians perform in front of a Vegas crowd in order to wow two of the finest magicians of all time.
EMN Notes: Originally picked up for the Life channel, this show ended up being so much fun that I moved some episodes to the main channel as well. It’s really just an excuse to see a bunch of really creative, really cool magic tricks performed in front of two amazing magicians. I used to love trying to do magic tricks growing up, and would wave around my little plastic wand and do basic sleight of hand that I never could seem to perfect. Perhaps I’m just living vicariously through these magicians, but hey, I think that’s okay. I love how they show off all kinds of magicians too, from mentalists to sleight of hand performers to stand-up comedians to dancers, and it’s a good time whether or not Penn and Teller get fooled or not. I think part of the fun of watching something on TV is the surprise spectacle, and this show is all about spectacle.


Rick Steves’ Europe
Year: 2000
Synopsis: Tour guide Rick Steves takes us all around Europe to show us the majesty, the food, and the art of the region.
EMN Notes: This show is our crossover with KATV, the channel that our good friends Kris and Alyssa run. They set up a channel using my guide and when we were staying with them we watched a bunch of it and had an absolute blast. One of the shows that played was this one, which I had never seen, and I really fell in love with the quiet calm atmosphere and down-to-Earth nature of Rick himself. It was great to drift off to sleep to and while I keep most of our travel programs on EMN Life the lo-fi public access nature of this as well as the good memories earn it a spot here.


Seinfeld
Year: 1989
Synopsis: Nothing happens.
EMN Notes: Okay, that synopsis is another joke. This show is so deft and funny in how it makes comedies of errors featuring selfish, stupid characters work. I think what I love about this show is that every single episode is an exercise of the characters reaching a point they should clearly stop and instead they just keep going. It has such a distinct dialogue style that makes it easy to imitate yet impossible to duplicate, and I think that’s why it still holds up today. The weakest parts of the show are the little stand-up bits by Jerry himself, and when the show dives deep into ad absurdum it becomes something of a masterpiece. Sure, people try to do what it did, and yeah, a comedy about a bunch of jerks is nowadays done pretty much all the time, but this one is still the reigning champion in how truly unchained it gets especially for the time. It’s amazing how much it has influenced media and you don’t realize it until you’ve seen an episode for yourself. I didn’t get it either until we binged a few seasons a few years ago and now I can say that it’s a show that’s funny, interesting, and also a blast to quote.


Siskel & Ebert At The Movies
Year: 1986
Synopsis: Two of the finest movie critics of all time discuss and debate then-current movies.
EMN Notes: As a mass communications major I put a lot of stock into the art of media critique. After going on a massive Siskel & Ebert binge, I realize that these guys are misunderstood by most, underrated by many, and should be revered by all. I don’t always agree with their opinions, but they’re both very smart, very media-savvy men who loved to look at films and truly dissect them for an audience. They took filmmaking seriously and loved to bring so many high-concept terms and ideas down to the level of a general audience, opening up film appreciation and critique for everyone. Watching them work is an education, and that’s to say nothing of how absolutely fascinating this show is as a first-rate pop culture primary source. You really get to understand the cultural zeitgeist of the times with one of these episodes. I feel like I became smarter and more media literate and a better writer just by studying this show. No one does it like they did. They’ll always get a thumbs up from me.


Star Trek
Year: 1966
Synopsis: Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds. To seek out new life and new civilizations. To boldly go where no man has gone before!
EMN Notes: So, growing up, my dad always watched Star Trek, with the episodes I remember the most being the ones that used Faith Of The Heart as the theme. I actually tried to get my fifth grade class to use that song as our graduation song instead of the truly dreadful Vitamin C song called Graduation. Do they still use that for graduations? I don’t know, I think they phased it out. Anyway, it took until EMN Contact, where we added some Star Trek for atmosphere, for me to truly Get Star Trek. It’s just so…I don’t know, soft. It’s soft and portrays a beautiful future of wonder, a world of harmony and exploration, of science and smarts. A world where kindness is the most important resource in the galaxy. It’s relaxing and sweet, and endlessly imaginative even today. It’s no wonder it captured the minds of the fans who would spread their Kirk/Spock slash fiction to each other in the mail. It’s a universe rife for exploration with a cast of characters who love each other and the world dearly. There’s always a place for that on EMN.


The Chase
Year: 2009
Synopsis: A team of three must answer trivia questions against geniuses all with their own gimmicks. Don’t get caught by The Chaser!
EMN Notes: This is one of our favorite game shows. Mandy showed it to me and it just has this perfect blend of interesting trivia questions and an absolutely wild gimmick of normal people fighting overwhelming odds in the form of trivia masters presented like boss battles. The versions I’ve been able to find are production cuts, so I’ll need to work on editing out a bit of test and sync footage at the start, but once that’s done they’ll be a perfect addition to the channel. In a sense, adding The Chase to EMN is us salvaging what we can from the first year of Toys & Games, which kind of became an unfocused collection of cartoons and game shows, and while we were considering making a game show marathon channel the excitement isn’t quite there yet, so this will do.


The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
Year: 1990
Synopsis: After getting into a fight at school, Will Smith is transferred from inner-city Philadelphia to live with his rich uncle’s family in Bel-Air.
EMN Notes: This show is so nostalgic to me and still so funny. It’s such a soft sitcom with characters that are so easy to joke about and imitate, especially the unmatched Uncle Phil. His dynamic with the rest of the family as well as Will’s fish-out-of-water story is a major highlight of the show. Something incredible is to see how as the seasons go on the family accepts Will as one of their own, leading of course to one of the finest episodes of any sitcom, Papa’s Got A Brand New Excuse, which still hits today. This show evokes warm memories for me, memories of quiet and cozy nights and early mornings, memories of coming home from high school to read the newspaper and decompress, and the atmosphere as a result is unmatched.


The Joy of Painting
Year: 1983
Synopsis: Bob Ross paints a beautiful oil landscape in half an hour, offering quiet pearls of wisdom along the way.
EMN Notes: I caught Bob Ross fever when I’m sure many people did, during the original Twitch marathon. I couldn’t get enough of his soft-spoken style, the strokes of his brushes, and the beautiful paintings that he always shows at the end. This show makes me want to get out and be creative, to try to paint, and that’s something he always wanted to do to inspire people. I think that there’s charm in how the official masters of this show are in a fairly lo-fi quality due to how they were preserved, as it somehow makes the whole experience even more calming. As he said himself, people would fall asleep to his show, and I can attest I’ve done that many, many times. I know that recently he’s become more of a product or an icon than anything, but the simple beauty of his original show will never be tainted. It’s a light in the darkness for many, and that includes me.


The Muppet Show
Year: 1976
Synopsis: A variety show full of music and skits and celebrity guests, all hosted by the colorful Muppets and their irreverent brand of humor.
EMN Notes: I love the Muppets! I’ve loved the Muppets ever since I was a kid watching Muppets Treasure Island and Muppets Christmas Carol, and I’ve loved the Muppet Show ever since seeing the Alice Cooper episode in a class on contemporary US history in high school. In a sense, this show reminds me of Garfield & Friends in how surprisingly satirical and witty it gets, and the actual work to get the puppets voiced and acting is astounding. There’s humor to go around here, some incredible guests from the time, and great music. It’s a blast, and it’s so fun seeing something that really revolutionized television show up in this format, back on television again.


The X-Files
Year: 1993
Synopsis: Two government agents explore reports of the supernatural, the paranormal, and the horrific, all in search of the truth that is out there.
EMN Notes: Variety is important on EMN, and the darkness of the X-Files is an incredible contrast to everything else we have on TV. I was never allowed to watch this show growing up, but I recognized the theme song – everyone did. In fact, a MIDI of it was used on one of the pages of The Odyssey of Hyrule, and I have a distinct memory of it playing and my parents asking me where that music was coming from since it was the X-Files theme. Now that I’m older I can say I’ve grown super fond of the show, mostly thanks to EMN Mysteries playing various episodes when we ran it. It ended up on the main channel because in a small way EMN1 is a best-of channel with a specific atmosphere and X-Files has the atmosphere in spades.


Twin Peaks
Year: 1990
Synopsis: FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper looks to solve the mystery of a young girl’s murder in a town where nothing is as it seems.
EMN Notes: I can’t believe Twin Peaks was aired on TV in the 90s. It was obviously a cultural powerhouse and its influences are still being felt, especially in Japan, but it’s still unfathomable to me to think that you could watch this alongside, like, Family Matters. After playing Deadly Premonition, Mandy and I watched Twin Peaks. They’re very different from each other, but through it we learned that we absolutely love David Lynch. This show is hypnotic, mesmerizing, funny, surreal, and beautiful. It’s a fantastic mystery, it’s gripping TV, and the characters are incredible. We so far only have the first season added because it’s short and episodic enough to not feel disconnected or distracting like the second season might, but I’m glad we have a little Kyle McLachlan on our channel in any capacity.


Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Year: 2015
Synopsis: After being rescued from cult captivity, a bright-and-chipper young woman looks to make a new life in modern society.
EMN Notes: Unbreakable! They’re alive, dammit! It’s a miracle! I seriously can’t get that theme song out of my head. Mandy wanted more live-action shows on EMN and I agreed, and this is a show they have been fond of for a long time. I was never as into 30 Rock as I wish I was, but one episode of this was all it took to convince me with this show. It consistently makes me laugh out loud, Kimmy and Titus are incredible, and, yeah, that theme song! This is such a fun and fresh addition to the channel and it plays really well with some of the older-school sitcoms on EMN.


Unwrapped
Year: 2001
Synopsis: A show that explores how your food goes from farm to factory to your table.
EMN Notes: Growing up, this was my favorite show on Food Network. I liked it more than Emeril Live, 30 Minute Meals, and Good Eats. Sure, it’s just How It’s Made but for food, but it turns out that I happen to love seeing food get made! It’s so colorful and neat! Unfortunately, it’s difficult to find a ton of episodes for this that are easily accessible, so the offerings on this channel are a bit paltry, but I’m working on it. Even just seeing the logo for this show makes me think of this tiny apartment in Florida we lived in just before we moved overseas.


What We Do In The Shadows
Year: 2019
Synopsis: A riveting true documentary series about four vampires and their familiar living in modern-day Staten Island.
EMN Notes: I already loved the movie, so when Mandy and I sat down to give this one a shot I was ready to have something at least fun. I got something that was more than just fun – I got a show that doesn’t miss a beat from the film and has a whole new cast of absolutely hilarious characters you love that even have interesting season-long arcs and plotlines. The deep dive into vampire lore punctuated with foul-mouthed nonsense and pure stupid camp is utterly enchanting. I’m glad we got to put another really great live-action comedy on EMN, and I’m glad it’s one that adds a touch of horror and queerness to the channel as well. We are nothing if not gay and spooky.


Whose Line Is It Anyway?
Year: 1998
Synopsis: Four live improv comics compete in wacky challenges to make each other laugh in a game where everything is made up and the points don’t matter.
EMN Notes: A staple of prime time television and a show I was never sure I was supposed to be watching. I think there’s definitely a lot of jokes that are a product of their time and haven’t aged well, but it’s still so interesting and fun to see some excellent comedians (I personally love Colin Mochrie dearly) go absolutely wild off the top of their heads and come up with crazy ways to play these improv games and always surprise you. Plus, in the EMN format it’s perfect. I would sneak into my parents’ room and watch this on their TV, and I have all these tiny flashes in my mind of images from the skits – Colin in front of a green screen showing a pit of worms, Ryan Stiles holding a giant crayon, and Wayne Brady singing about the TV show COPS. It’s funny, it’s fun, and it’s nostalgic in such a specific way. It’s a recent addition, and yet a no-brainer.


Yan Can Cook
Year: 1982
Synopsis: Martin Yan shows how even you can make great Chinese food at home!
EMN Notes: When researching shows to add to our Food channel, I stumbled upon this little public access show that while popular didn’t ever seem to enter any TV database. I found a whole host of episodes online and checked out one out of curiosity. What I got was a great show featuring a wonderfully charismatic chef that is never dry or dull. Martin Yan treats his show like something of a comedy routine, informing his audience about Chinese cooking with clear and patient explanations of each dish and peppering it with quick jokes and quips and impressively fast and exuberant knife work. This is such a cozy show.