About.com Rating

The Bottom Line

I like Martha Stewart, and it is all Ana Gasteyer’s fault. Okay, it’s my wife’s, too. From Gasteyer’s spot-on impersonation of Martha on Saturday Night Live – which so captured Martha’s ability to mix arts and crafts with ego and celebrity – to Martha’s uncanny way of inspiring creativity in people like my spouse – I’m a convert. Martha is at once both magazine and talk show. If you’re a fan of celebrity interviews, this is the show that really lets you see a side of your favorite movie star that you’ve never seen before.

Pros

• Celebrity interviews in a setting they’re unfamiliar with
• Creatively inspiring
• Cozy
• Martha more relaxed than she’s ever been before

Cons

• Martha can, at times, seem a bit detached or cold
• You probably can’t do the crafts she does
• Less talk show and more magazine

Description

• Airs Monday through Friday in daytime syndication (check your local listings)
• Sequel to Martha Stewart Living, which ran from 1993 to 2004
• Debuted in 2005 after Martha Stewart’s five-month incarceration
• Regularly features segments on cooking, interior design, gardening, and crafts
• Often invites guests to take part in a segment, doing a craft or cooking a dish
• Famously tried to “parent” Lindsay Lohan while making cookies on the show
• The last episode aired on May 11, 2012 before going into syndication

Guide Review - Martha

 

As I said up top, I like Martha Stewart, and I enjoy Martha, though I admit it’s not on my DVR list. Martha is sort of the anti-Rachael Ray, and I think I like that most of all. She’s reserved and deliberate. She doesn’t talk in a high-pitch or try to do things as fast as she can.

Yummo, I suspect, is not in her vocabulary.

What you get from Martha and Martha Stewart is a no-nonsense tips and demonstrations of cooking and crafts that you probably could never, ever duplicate in your home or kitchen – but that’s okay. Part of the joy of watching Martha is knowing she’s at the top of her game, an artist at work. It’s as though Van Gogh was the host of The Joy of Painting.

I greatly prefer Martha to Rachael Ray for all the reasons someone might prefer Coke to Pepsi or Target to Wal-Mart. I’m more Futurama than Family Guy, more Arrested Development than According to Jim. And if you understand those differences, then you know why I recommend Martha.