Sunday, April 18, 2010

COMFORTABLY DUMB..from Reality TV!

We all have our guilty pleasures.  I..like most of you..have lots.  Yes..I have ones that I deem good..and ones..that I deem REALLY GOOD.  The really good ones..I'll save for another day..another venue..and in person with lots of beers.  For now..you get to hear about this particular pleasure that I'm having these days.  REALITY TV.  No..not all reality TV.  I really find most too lame for my time.  After hours of turning pages and staring at the laptop..there’s nothing quite like reality TV to mash up the gray matter up there in the ol’ cranium. It’s nothing to be ashamed of..even for recovering high culture addicts and self-proclaimed arts snobs.  Here are a few that I must admit that I will either stop the remote when I come across the show..OR..I actually plant myself on the couch (Tuesday nights..8:00p..NBC) and watch with dedication.

Like any other show following a mansion full of dysfunctional individuals incapable of engaging in civil human interactions..“Bad Girls Club” doesn’t have much to offer the viewer..except for the most deliciously grisly..vicious girl fights found on TV! The show’s premise is nebulous..but that’s not really the point. The women sometimes vaguely refer to being there for some sort of “learning experience.” I’m not sure what they could be gaining from laying in bed all day..drinking high amounts of alcohol..and giving each other bodily injuries..besides 15 pounds and mad hair pulling skills. OK..this one is pretty lame.  NO..I'm not dedicated to the show.  When flipping the channel..I find myself coming back to this show..just to see what they will do or say next.  I simply shake my head..and become COMFORTABLY DUMB

Next..as this one I'm somewhere between 50-80% dedication..

The casts from VH1’s “Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew” and “Sex Rehab with Dr. Drew” continue their path to recovery in a half-way house. The source of most of the drama can be summed up in three words..Kari Ann Peniche. Dr. Drew is the only person the meth-addicted..sex-addicted..violently temperamental former Miss Teen USA is willing to show any semblance of respect to. On “Sex Rehab”..she pissed off the rest of the cast by demanding fresh juice at her bedside in the mornings..attacking a Pasadena Recovery Center employee and then refusing to store any of her belongings in garbage bags upon being discharged. On “Celebrity Rehab”..she seduced former Alice in Chains bassist and heroin addict Mike Starr into painting a “bikini top” on her naked breasts and flashed other male patients her vagina in order to cure her boredom. On the premiere of “Sober House”..she already failed her first drug test and proved unwilling to join the group..so hopefully this season will be just as outrageous. Tune in to VH1 on Thursdays at 10 p.m.  I simply shake my head..and again..become COMFORTABLY DUMB.

Last..but not least..is my FAV reality show right now.  I'm 100% dedicated every week to this one..THE BIGGEST LOSER.

This show is so uplifting..it’s sick. The ninth season of “Biggest Loser” promised the heaviest competitors in the program’s history..and it dead.  HOWEVER..instead of the usual psychological pain and physical exploitation..this time around it really seems like NBC is actually interested in improving these people’s lives instead of using their life-threatening disease to satisfy drama-hungry viewers. Here’s the usual drill..the contestants go to a ranch where they do nothing but work out with trainers Jillian Michaels and Bob Harper. What’s missing from this season is the Michaels-style impromptu therapy..if you can call it that (see I really watch and pay attention to this show). She usually dogs the contestants..forcing them to confront deeply repressed emotional traumas as they lift weights and run on the treadmill for hours on end. This always seemed a bit disturbing..especially since Michaels is a mere fitness professional with no psychology background and really has no business reaching her well-toned biceps into people’s subconscious minds. Less-than-subtle Subway product placements seem to have replaced many of the meltdowns..but if you’re interested in watching people be awkwardly sincere as they change for the better..make sure to watch on Tuesdays at 8 p.m.  SAM and KOLI (cousins) are my FAV competitors for this season's show. 

If anything comes out of watching reality tv..it can be said that I indeed am diversed..have an open mind..but some time on my hands that will give the head a much needed feeling..COMFORTABLY DUMB.

Peace out to my HALE'S ANGELS!

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