I have to sheepishly admit I watched the debut of "Dweezil and Lisa."

Now, we at the Fat Cat Central Command think FoodTV is the cat's meow, but "Dweezil and Lisa" needs to work a little harder to get a couple of paws-up around here.

Overall, the show lacked the hands-on cooking insights to make us Fat Cats better cooks.

Take Good Eats. It's loaded with science, practical how-to's and (most importantly) humor.

Or even Emeril. For all his somewhat annoying "bamming" and "WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK!", the guy loves to cook, and you can't help but be inspired to mince some organic shallots and toss them into a hot fry pan.

But watching a couple of youngsters meander about Atlanta -- whether it's in search of good food or not -- would be better suited to a Real World episode on M(indless)TV. And at least with the Real World you get to see sinful youngsters in hot tubs, not crowded around flourescent heat lamps in a cramped industrial kitchen.

Sure, we found out Chef Scott's Carrot Cake secret was Ceylon cinnamon, and that cocoa adds a nice dimension to the carrot base, but it was hardly worth the other 29-1/2 minutes of uninspirational banter.

And what about that trip to the farmer's market? I half expected music from the Psycho shower scene when Dweezil and Lisa ventured to the shadowy meat side of the market.

Still, we love the underlying premise of "Dweezil and Lisa": anything that can get 18-to-34 year old youngsters into the kitchen gets two paws up around here.

But so far "Dweezil and Lisa" lacks that crucial ingredient that has made FoodTV successful: a connection to the audience.

With Good Eats, Alton Brown spends 30 minutes gazing lovingly into the camera and guiding you thru the nuts-and-bolts of, well, good eats. And Emeril spends 60 minutes working a live studio audience into a hungry lather.

"Dweezil and Lisa" would hit a high note if they could just make us humble Fat Cats believe that we, too, can cook great food.