Well 2010 is officially on it's way out the door, and it's got me thinking... what do I want to heave out the door with it? My job? Check. These excess pounds that have taken up residence on my bum? Sounds pretty splendid. Oh and ya know what would be fabulous to send out with 2010. Reality TV. That'd be pretty nice...
There is literally a reality show for everything. Pawn Stars is one of my personal favorites, because they've glamorized this business into TV-quality. I can honestly say I've never stepped foot in a pawn shop, not because I've just never had the opportunity to grace them with my presence... oh no, it's because I've avoided them like the plague. These places just seem like dirty, trashy establishments and I'm sorry for sounding condescending, but ew. Granted, the pawn shop in the show is pretty nice, but they are definitely the exception, not the rule.
Parking Wars... ????? I seriously thought that I was being punked when I first saw a preview for this show. As all reality shows, some of the people are funny. But that's life, you occasionally run across some pretty entertaining people. By no means does that mean we have to start filming our lives just so we can publicize the interesting characters we run across. There are some hilariously entertaining people in my line of work, but I'd be more embarrassed than anything to show them off to the world- "Yeah guys, this is the kind of caliber of people I work with... You're just dripping with jealousy, aren't you?" Nope...
Another one is Billy the Exterminator. I'll admit, I've spent more than a few hours watching this show, not for the entertainment value, but it's sorta educational. But at the end of the day, it's a show about a guy who takes care of pests, and I could live without that on the tube. Apparently this guy got his shot at a TV show when he was featured on Mike Rowe's Dirty Jobs and SOMEONE decided, "this guy's got pizazz, let's give him his own show!" He's an exterminator with an unconventional sense of style. That's it. Stimulating TV ya got there.
Storage Wars is a new one, I've never actually seen an episode or even part for that matter, just what I've seen on previews. From what I gather, it's about storage facilities. My interest was never stimulated enough to get more information than that. Another one-seasoner, I'd put money on it.
Hoarders is taking it a bit far. This one's a bit different, because it's a mental condition. This one disgusts me more in the light that it's exploiting this rather embarrassing, mental problem. It's somewhat educational, sure... but how much more can we exploit personal issues. Intervention is a personal favorite of mine and I support it, but it's completely different. It's not as embarrassing, in the sense that hoarding is a habit that can easily be kept behind closed doors and no one will ever know. If you're a "stumbling all over yourself, cracked out 24/7, loud, disrespectful" addict, everyone knows it, whether you're on TV or not.
Oddities is a new one we're watching, and as entertaining as it can be... at times, it's not 100% there. Some of it's pretty gross. Most of it, actually. Watch one episode, you'll see exactly what I'm talking about. Another fabulous example that we don't need to publicize every strange person we come across, because the store in the show clearly has more than it's share.
Sarah Palin's Alaska needs to go straight where her political career went. Guess what? We didn't care enough about your personal life when we had the ability to put it in front of us 24/7, we don't care to tune into it either. LET IT GO! She's grasping!
In my research for this entry (yes, they aren't just rants, I get good, solid background on these puppies!) I came across yet another reality show that blows my mind. Swamp Loggers. Before you Le Goog it, I'll save you the trouble, it's exactly what it sounds like. Loggers that find wood in swamps. Here's my question... where was the interest in this line of work to spark this show?? Not with this girl, that's for sure.
Oh, and if logging toots your flute, but swamp logging is a bit extreme for you, don't worry, there's a show for you too... American Loggers is the plain M&M's version. Also, exactly what it sounds like. Ugh. Again, not a line of work that's ever intrigued me enough to complain about the lack of a show about it.
Deadliest Catch is also beyond me. Granted, these guys risk their lives out there and I'm not degrading that, but still... movies about fake fishermen have failed, how is a show about real ones expected to do the opposite? One of those shows you can only watch one or two episodes of before it becomes the same thing over and over and over again.
Police Women of Dallas/Memphis is no winner either. Those who know me probably think I'd like these shows. They'd be mistaken. Sure, these are independent women with guns slapping handcuffs on people. But it's a poor man's version of Cops and one version is enough. It's just not stimulating enough to keep me coming back for more.
I really could go on all day about these shows... and the sad thing is, we haven't gotten the hint yet about what works and what doesn't. We just keep throwing these things against the wall to see what sticks. I want to start standing in the board rooms where the initial "yay or nay" discussions about these shows take place with a big ol' cast iron skillet. The guys who support the stupid shows get to meet my little friend. Simple, effective solution, I think!
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