Another week passes and the world is changed forever. That’s right, Insidepulse movies made it’s debut on Monday. Check it out, there are plenty of writers there who deserve a read. Same with the new column “The Cable Guy”, from Brian, a former panelist from here (for a week) whose already moved on up.
Saw “The Incredibles” on Friday. Wasn’t nearly as good as I thought it would be. Not enough jokes about the superhero genre, and in fact it became an atypical superhero movie halfway in at which point it wasn‘t nearly as interesting. The villain was disappointing ( And his defeat predictable) and Edna Mode just may be the most unlikable CGI character outside of permanent #1 Jar Jar Binks. It does a good job of appealing to both kids and adults alike though I wish it would have stuck with one demographic and milked for all it‘s worth. Either way it should make tons of money and spawn several sequels which I’ll also see on opening day.
As I write this it’s Saturday afternoon and I’m going to be going to an open mic night later on to read poetry, something I haven’t done in awhile. You can check out some of my stuff in the forum at the Insidepulse poetry contest. I’m under the user name Ultron_6( the greatest Ultron of them all, and the first Marvel character to be fused with adamantium).
Tonight on SNL, we get “The Best of Tom Hanks”. If anyone wants to call this anything besides an extended commercial for “The Polar Express” (Which will not make as much money as the studio’s expecting, haha!), then they’re dumb enough to watch it in the first place. SNL is awful now, but we should at least get an opening monologue from the new old president. It’s a golden opportunity they’re squandering.
On to the meat and potatoes-
Many television writers have recently speculated that reality TV is dying. Ratings are down from what they regularly are and new scripted shows like “Lost”, “Desperate Housewives”, and “Kevin Hill” are taking the ratings that buzz reality shows once coveted. On the one side you have the reality haters who are waiting with baited breath to see the genre’s demise, and on the other side, the fans of said shows who believe reality is here to stay, so we should get used to it.
Personally, I think most reality television is trash. It is devoid of any of the so called reality it advertises and heavy editing is often needed to create superficial dramatic tension. The “real people” don’t come as such, but rather as exaggerated stereotypes. If a person is gay or black then usually that’s how they’re defined on the show. If reality TV, is indeed dying, I’ll be the first to spit on it’s grave. Good f*cking riddance. But don’t blame me, reality TV is killing itself.
I think the first sign of weakness from reality TV came with the original “Joe Schmo”. It was a reality show that was also a parody of reality shows (it’s kind of like Krame’s coffee book, but not quite). Watching exposed how pathetic it is to watch reality shows in the first place. And the parodying hasn’t stopped. “The Surreal Life”, “Drawn Together””¦
Also I think it’s hard to accept winners from reality contests. When I see these schmucks at the Emmy’s for instance, I laugh my ass off. It’s so pathetic. It’d be like seeing Tobey Maguire attempt to swing from one New York Street to another. Just cause you played a singer/model/whatever, it doesn’t mean you’ll be taking seriously outside of your little outlet. I’ll give credit where credit is due in regards to Kelly, Ruben, and Clay, but for the most part these “reality stars” rarely find their own identities and become sideshow attractions in the cruel world of showbiz at best. I think I’d rather be anonymous than to be known as “that midget girl from the Amazing Race”. Look at Maven (we can’t look at Nidia anymore, bitch got fired). He’s still referred to as the “Tough Enough” winner and hasn’t actually carved an identity for himself. When someone’s famous just because people are told that their famous without actually doing anything substantial to gain that title, it’s easy not to give a shit. Unless you make a sex tape in which you f*ck the only person more worthless than you.
If reality TV wants to be accepted as television it needs to have a more standard season schedule. Over-saturation is causing a disinterest. I log on to this site every day and scan the reality TV teasers and still don’t know what Road Rules season we’re in. I do know it hasn’t been on longer than ten years and we’re already in the double digits. “Survivor” is already in it’s ninth season. “The Apprentice”, which started in January is already close to ending its second season. Slow the f*ck down people. Do you think “American Idol” would be as popular as it is, if two or three competitions aired a year instead of just one? It seems more special when it’s one. It gives people time to yearn for it. “Last Comic Standing 3″ deserved to fail. They didn’t even wait a month to rush from one season to the other. And even worse, they just recycled the same people. Was there anyone in the world dying on the edge of their seat to see more Kathleen Madigan?”It’s been two weeks, MUST HAVE MADIGAN!!!!!”
Reality TV also needs to hold itself to a higher standard. Don’t give any millionaire in desperate need of a PR boost his own show just cause he asks for it. Donald Trump has been famous for years. Millions of people knew him before “The Apprentice”. I can’t say the same for Marc Cuban before or after “The Benefactor”. Watch that shitty show and not only will you know why reality TV is dying , but you’ll want to pull the trigger yourself. Don’t steal other peoples ideas. Yes FOX, I’m looking at you, you thieving bastard. You just end up killing interest in the genre more quickly. Your plan to swipe “The Contende’s” potential viewership backfired. Have a little bit of dignity while your at it. Yeah FOX, your guilty of this a lot too. When people begin to eventually look back at reality TV as it was they’ll see crap like “The Littlest Groom” and “Forbidden Eden” as proof enough.
I doubt any of my criticisms or advice will be heeded, so yes, reality TV, at least in a primetime capacity, will cease to exist.
If you do like reality TV, don’t worry. There’s always cable. “Queer Eye” ratings may have sunk on NBC, but Bravo will be willing to churn out episodes as long as the fab five are willing to tell people how to dress. Game shows have been the most popular shows on television before dying off on primetime, but are still shown regularly on their own network. Reality shows are easier to produce and finance, and cable execs are always looking to fill airtime cheaply, so we’ll always have them in some capacity. And I’ll be here to make fun of them. It’s a perfect balance.
