36 Hours

I love the Travel Channel and I watch it a lot. I also realize that the channel is struggling to find the next big Travel Channel stars. That's why I had high hopes 36 Hours but they made one fatal mistake they have Kristen Kish as one of the hosts. This woman's voice sounds like the east coast version of the 'valley girl' and I can't stand to listen to it. And she keeps trying so hard to be hip & cool by using words like 'epic', 'freakin' & 'awesome' but it's just irritating and just not cool (at all). Kyle Martino (& the show) would be great if he had another co-host. I really do hope the folks at the Travel channel might realize this and try another co-host.

I'm a huge fan of Kristen from Top Chef. I think she's genuine and down to earth. She seems very sweet and just an all around nice person. I don't understand why people say she has no personality. I'm glad she's not obnoxious like most reality personalities.

When she talks, I believe what she's saying. It's nice to have a younger female voice in a TV genre that's loaded with white men. When she eats, I want to eat it. I'm not saying they are breaking down new walls but it's nice to see that they get active and do more than just eat or talk about life's problems or see the same old sights.

It's refreshing to see a more youthful active approach to activities - some of the Travel Channel shows are so boring. Just see the same sights and never do anything interesting. I've only watched a few episodes and I will definitely watch the entire series.

Also, I'm not sure if people understand what real Valley Girl accents are but they need to take a trip to Santa Monica or something to get the real gist. Saying "cool" and "awesome" doesn't make you Valley Girl. It makes you American.

I just watched the Istanbul episode. The episode had nice pacing, cinematography and covered diverse aspects of the city. Kristen Kish and Kyle Martino are attractive hosts who have decent personalities if not totally magnetic. Kyle is the more charming of the two. Kristen adds an air of authority to the dining scenes. (It's too bad Kristen left the kitchen not long after winning Top Chef. It seems that the contestants really want to be celebrities, but c'est la vie.)

These travel shows suffer from their inevitable comparisons to Anthony Bourdain. It might be more fair to compare travel shows to Andrew Zimmern who is a decent and knowledgeable host, but not as celebrated as Bourdain. I still say Bourdain's skills are his disarming wit and his power as a storyteller. He was making insightful political and cultural commentary long before he went to CNN. He also seems to connect with the locals with humanity and a very sincere interest in their cultures.

Most travel hosts are merely guides taking us on what amounts to viewing your friend's travel photos and videos. But hey, I like that sort of thing. I will give 36 Hours a chance.

I tend to agree with other reviewers Kristin Kish is weak, has no depth and is purely one dimensional. Every adjective out of her mouth is that of a 14 year old girl. Being a huge Travel Channel fan I gave the show a shot, but sadly I will not be a weekly viewer. Other than the one major miss in casting it was a fairly vanilla trek through global cuisine. Kyle Martino is only above average which makes him unable to carry his co star very far. If he were paired with a more likable persona the show would be much better. The cinematography is fine the locations thus far have been interesting. I just wasn't made to feel anything for the cast. Sorry Travel Channel I think you missed on this one.