General Ranting..

Today, I'm just going to go off on things that have bothered me, and see where it takes me.

First, I'm going to go off on these "reality" TV shows.

How in the hell can ANYONE really think this is "Reality" TV when everything seen on the tube is cut and edited for "good television"?

Reality, by definition, isn't something that can be scripted. So how can a network seriously claim that their show is all about reality when they're cutting, pasting, and molding a story for their viewers who want juicy gossip about who's doing what on that one show?

Let's point out a few, and see who agrees with me.

American Idol. Not really a "reality" show, but it's still pretty pathetic in my opinion. Yeah, some good singers have been found, but the main premise behind the whole thing is to show off some nasty attitude Brit who makes biting and insulting comments to contestants, and gets THANKED for it.

Anyone else sense the irony here?

Big Brother. Yeah. Gossip-fest galore. At the start, it's all about who's going to shack up with whom. Then it's all about what person is going to backstab the other, and so on and so forth. Reminds me of the trite analogy of the two housevies gossiping along the fence while doing laundry.

Survivor. Seriously. You take a bunch of folks, stick them on a remote deserted place, starve them for a while, then make them jump through all of the hoops. Meanwhile, they're all still messing with each other's heads, and trying to be the last person standing. Pathetic.

The Biggest Loser. Yeah, losing weight is a great idea and goal. But to make a "reality" gameshow out of it? The weight loss is impressive. But have you ever really watched near the end of the season? At the beginning, all the entrants have very skimpy clothes on, and show off all the disgusting blubber. But at the end? They cover up the flab, in order to impress you with their weight loss. What aren't they showing? The piles and PILES of skin that are now draped from their bodies from the massive weight loss. This is usually only able to be corrected by surgery, and removal of the excess skin and fat collected there. So, is this reality? I don't think so.

The Batchelor. Now, come on. Take a guy, stick him in a romantic location with 25-odd beautiful women, and make him choose ONE. First off, unless the man is independently wealthy, he's not going to be living in a mansion like they house these women in. Second, they wouldn't be going on all of those lavish and romantic escapades. Third, if he's a TRUE guy, he wouldn't be able to juggle all of those women, and if these were TRUE women, NONE of them would stand to deal with the others if the man showed any promise or affection to one of them. Reality TV? Not even close.

I know there are more out there, these are just the ones off the top of my head. I know that Brad over at Diaries of the Professor did a blasting of Kate from the Jon and Kate plus 8 TV show. I don't understand the draw of that one. Get preggers, find out that you're unable to afford all of them, so sell your soul and lifestyle for a TV series where you can be a total bitch to your husband, and still get good ratings from women who NEVER want to be in your shoes.

How about Little People, Big World? What a load of crap. Yay. Dwarves on TV. So what? Yeah, they have to cope. It's not pretty, but it's life.

Maybe next we'll travel around with someone with Cerebral Palsy, and find out how tough it is just to have someone help you take a crap, or do laundry. Or even EAT.

When is this stuff going to stop?

I don't know. But it's pretty pathetic when we as a viewer are more concerned about watching how other people live than being concerned about how WE'RE living.

Get off the couch, and get into life.

Now, I can understand losing some life-time minutes for shows like CSI, and Fringe, or House, or Bones...

Now THAT'S good Television!

See you all next week!!