If Mario is gone, then FN is losing a great chef. He was possibly, and IMO, the standout chef on the network. Giada is cute, and her food is homey, and not too difficult to make. But she understands that she's not in the same caliber as, say, Bobby Flay. She is an accomplished cook for sure. And what she brings to the table is interesting, and looks great, if limited in scope. The same is true of Rachel Ray.
I also agree that FN isn't about teaching extraordinary cooking skills. That's the domain of Le' Cordon Bleu, or ICA. What FN is about, again in my opinion, is teaching the home cook a few tricks, and possibly opening the masses to a bit of experimentation, and getting out of their mac'n cheese comfort zones.
And don't even get me started on the Emerill shows. Though he is a trained, and accomplished chef, his shows are purely schtic and entertainment. How can you take seriously a guy who proffeses one year that to get a perfect turkey, you have to cook it breast-side down, and then the following year states that you start it in a 400' oven, with butter tucked under the skin, breast-side up? He changes his advise frequently to keep the show "fresh", not accurate.
I do like the Throwdowns from Bobby Flay, again as they are very entertaining. And though he does get beaten often enough, he usually doesn't get beaten by very much. And his food is genuinely good. He is more willing to go out on a limb.
As for the Besh/Symon competition, I thought that Symon was the better chef, again because he came through with foods outside of his comfort zone, but not outside of his skill level. I thought that Besh would win as he was had "the look" that was freindlier to the camera, and had competed on Iron Chef America and done fairly well. I was happily suprized when Symon won. I'm looking forward to see how well he does.
And for all of you Rachel Ray bashers, I am a fan of hers, not for her looks, and not for her quircky/perky presentations, but for her ability (with the help of FN) to assemble a meal, basically from scratch, that a home cook could make in thirty minutes.
I don't really believe that most people are organized enough to put together the meals that she makes in that time-space. But she shows that if you organize yourself, it can be done.
Take FN for what it is. It's certainly less harmfull to our society than are many of the mind numbing movies and programming available on most channels.
As a foodie, I liked Sarah Moulton, and Mario Batalli. I could learn from them. But I still watch FN occasionally, but more for the fun of it.
Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North