Reality Bites

Anyone who knows me, knows that I have no love for reality television. For me it is false intrusiveness. Let me explain this, you are peeking in on someone's life, but it is not real. There has not been an honest reality show since the Real World first season on MTV. Since then we have been watching regurgitated bull-crap. The ONLY reason they keep pumping out this junk is because the powers that be are listening to number crunchers and to be honest getting Nielson ratings from the same people year after year, (I mean do you know a Nielson family?). These number crunchers saw the low cost of these types of shows, versus actually paying for real talent to write and act. Stop your yelling at the screen, I can't hear you, but I know some of you are saying that "No! There are some quality reality shows! What about Amazing Race and Survivor? Those shows win Emmy's!" Well, those are NOT reality shows, nor is Big Brother, these are elaborate game shows, so let's get that straight. 

It is such mindless junk now on the air, to the point that I am finding myself longing for the 70's. A decade, where if we are going to be honest, was the absolute worst decade for fashion and television, I mean seriously The Love Boat? But damn it, if I see one more variation of "The Real Housewives" on Bravo or another incarnation of Bridezilla's (aka Poor White Trash Wedding Fiascoes as I more affectionately call it), not only will I hurl, but will more than likely start an online petition to bring back shows like the Love Boat and Fantasy Island, while taking network executives hostage, so help me God!   

I am not sure why this has happened, kids wearing their pants around their knees and crappy shows being produced on TV, they may have some kind of correlation. I am checking on it, and will get back to you on that. In the interim we need to put our differences aside and rally together for good television. I mean do you honestly want the Jersey Shore to be a reflection of our children's generation in the years to come? I have seen some excellent shows come, and go recently, it is almost as though they are not even given a chance to gain any momentum before they are cancelled. Oh, to the programming geniuses at the major networks, it does not help that you keep changing the airtime of your new shows. Pick one, stick with it, and wait a few shows; then make a decision. I have seen far too many good shows, smart scripts to go into the abyss of cancellation hell. On a more honest note, it is bad enough that the banks have basically reamed us all without K-Y, but really, et tu Networks? 

So I wait that someway, sometime that the people and the powers that be in the executive board rooms of these networks, will somehow hear my plea, and take it seriously, because in this day an age I shouldn't be thinking "Thank God for cable channels, otherwise I'd have nothing to watch!" I should be having battles over what to watch and what to DVR! 

This post is dedicated to a few of the better shows that left without notice, which were keeping some of our attention for an hour. Brothers and Sisters,  Detroit 1-8-7, The Defenders, Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior, Law and Order: Los Angeles,  The Event,  Undercovers,  Chase, Breaking In, Human Target,  The Chicago Code and Lie to Me

Most of those above name shows were top rated scripted shows (the underlined shows were my personal favorites),reaching numbers as high as 10 million. They had great casts, made you think in some cases and others kept you intrigued. This is not what we are getting back, what we are getting back is a camera crew inside some upstart spoiled rich chick's (could use a euphemism here, but I think you already know what I think) house with her friends, husband and hangers on. This is what we call quality television? By the way, a real housewife doesn't have time to travel to Morocco and have a hissy fit every 5 minutes, real housewives have to deal with carpools, homework, raising kids, PTA meetings just to name a few things!

Everytime I see another version of Jersey Shore; i.e. Bad Girls club, or Real Housewives; i.e.  Basketball Wives, we lower our expectations and some even may think our moral compass. I am all for guilty pleasure, but enough is enough! Maybe I am ragging on this topic because I miss my shows, or maybe I am looking at our world through another prism. It makes me think, is the fact that we are suffering in as bad economy due to the greed of major corporations and banks also the reason we get bad television, so networks can pocket more money while producing crap and we just eat it up. Like lambs to the slaughter we are meandering through, just what else can be taken. if the easiest form of entertainment in our homes is turned to this and none of us balk as it happens.

Tonight's quotes. Due to the subject matter I found it necessary to have a few quotes; "Television is not real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs." ~Bill Gates  

"Television is chewing gum for the eyes." ~Frank Lloyd Wright

"Television is like the American toaster, you push the button and the same thing pops up everytime. " ~Alfred Hitchcock

"Reality TV is sleazy, it is manipulative. It is as momentary as anything in popular culture".~Morley Safer 

and finally my favorite on the subject

"I wish there was a knob on the TV so you could turn up the intelligence.  They got one marked "brightness" but it doesn't work, does it?"  ~Leo Anthony Gallagher