Too Much Reality

I wear it like a badge of honor. I feel it speaks highly to my character and intellegence. It makes me feel "high and mighty", as my roommate likes to call it. It is my disgust and disdain for reality T.V.!

What frustrates me is that there are well written scripted shows (Chuck) that struggle while shows that pander down to the lowest parts of ourselves thrive! Reality shows take very little money to produce and very little brain power to watch. Is this why they are so popular? We don't have to think at all to watch? Or is it the pleasure of watching someone who's life maybe a little more crazed than yours?

I thought the end of the world was truly at hand when Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montage ascended to the top of the "D" List! Fresh off their roles in a series called "The Hills", they became famous by virtue of them being the most annoying, boorish and generally ignorant people on earth!

Just when I thought Heidi and Spencer were as bad as it gets, along come another duo hell bent on ruining their lives for fame and money. What makes them even more pathetic than "Spiedi", as if that were possible, is that this new duo is dragging the lives of 8 innocent children thru the muck as well. I am of course talking about Jon and Kate Gosselin and their "8".

"Jon and Kate Plus 8", as I have heard, was a mildly entertaining show about a young family raising multiple kids. Then, it has been reported, fame went to the parents heads and it became a show about a couple falling apart! They became tabloid fodder and people became transfixed. Ratings exploded for the season premiere as people tuned in to see if they would speak of their affair or continue their tabloid fighting on the show. Sadly, the Gosselin's have announced their divorce on national TV. Shortly after that, TLC announced they were putting production of the show on hold. A rare wise decision in the reality TV world. As a product of divorce, I can say with experience, there is nothing entertaining about watching small children struggle with the fact that one parent is no longer around!

While divorce is no laughing matter, I do hope the Gosselin's tale as well as that "breakdown" talent show winner Susan Boyle had serves as cautionary tales to those that think reality TV is an easy way to fame and fortune. E!Online and Entertainment Weekly have declared their publications "Speidi Free" zones. For the sake of all involved, can we just make our lives "reality TV free" zones? We would put writers back to work and all be just that much more "high and mighty".