I love to watch people. I like being at the mall and watching people. My husband and I developed a system, early on in our relationship, to communicate interesting people. I squeeze his hand and if he figures out what I am talking about, he double squeezes back. It's much safer than pointing. I wish I had my scanner hooked up to my laptop, I would scan a picture we took a few years ago at Alcatraz Island, where a guy was touring with what could only have been a hooker. We very subtly took a picture of her stilettoes and leopard print micro mini. She was great.
Reality TV makes it easy for me to eavesdrop on other people. I love 'Honey, We're killing the kids, Househunters, Runway Moms, The Amazing Race, The Biggest Loser (Fiona loves that one too), Tori and Dean Inn Love, Flip This (or That) House, What Not to Wear just to name a few. I have to admit, one day I had total meltdown. I laid on the bed, turned on the TV to America's Next Top Model and realized 20 minutes later that I hadn't moved my legs that entire time. I don't normally watch that show, but hey...sometimes your mind can't take much more.
I love watching people's weirdness, their triumphs and hey, let's face it, re-affirming to myself that my life is absurdly normal and I am still smarter than the majority of people. Although, that last one...the gene pool on reality shows is wildy skewed.
So, some of the shows are good. The Amazing race is awesome and often educational. The Biggest Loser shows that diet and exercise can work, I have seen What Not to Wear actually change peoples' lives, including this cute girl from Utah who used to have awful self-esteem. Some of the shows are beyond bad, how obnoxious and self-righteous can Tyra Banks get? Donald Trump is such a jerk! The Gastineau Girls just made me want to slap them. I think they give people weird ideas of life.
I guess I am just happy that I get to people watch in the privacy of my own home, not to mention safety. But, I don't think that most of them add to the quality of television. Every once in a while I find myself turning the channel and feeling like I need to take a bath after viewing sordid lives. What do you think? What shows do you find rewarding and what shows make you feel embarrassed to admit you even know about them?
8 comments:
I agree that a lot of those shows make you feel like you need a bath. It's kind of like watching a train wreck -- horrible, but you can't take your eyes off it. That's true of a lot of non-reality tv too, though. I try to stick to the feel-good reality shows, even though the train wrecks are more entertaining. I just can't stand to watch things like "The Surreal Life," where has-been non-stars make complete idiots of themselves. I love The Amazing Race. A good reality show either needs a brilliant concept, like that one, or riveting personalities. I personally don't find Donald Trump that riveting anymore. So much has already been done, it's hard to do anything unique in reality tv.
I was fascinated last year by a little show on E called #1 Single. Matt thought it was crap, but I watched every episode. It had Lisa Loeb trying to catch a man, and I just thought she was hilarious and darling. I couldn't get enough of her.
Even among my friends from church, I'm considered uber conservative in the entertainment department because I don't watch rated r movies. My reason is simple. I have a good imagination. I don't appreciate when they leave nothing to the imagination. And when I did watch rated r movies, I felt dirty afterward.
For me, the same goes for tv shows. I don't like CSI, Law & Order, Heroes or other graphic shows. I prefer to live in my little bubble where those disturbing events don't even exist.
Now that I've disclosed my basic entertainment philosophy, let's move on to reality tv. I appreciate reality shows that display amazing talent. From "So You Think You Can Dance" to "Top Chef". These ordinary people are blessed with extraordinary talent. Because of that, I applaud the creators, producers and participants for displaying their gifts for all of us to enjoy.
I tell ya, the hardest thing is once you eliminate the violent shows and the reality shows that don't involve talent, there isn't much left. I say "bring back the family sitcom!" What ever happened to "The Cosby Show" and other wholesome family entertainment?
The only shows I drop everything to watch are: The Office, Scrubs and House. One of our favorite PICU nurses at DCH introduced me to House and I'm hooked! I suppose Scrubs and House became a little more interesting once I started recognizing the medical terms and medication names due to our own medical experiences. Sigh, I used to be so innocent and sheltered.
Anyhoo, despite the limited number of shows I enjoy watching, I seem to spend a TON of time staring at the tv. Hmmmm. How does that work I wonder?
Hey Lori- we love Scrubs. One of the highlights of getting high speed was being able to access the Musical from Scrubs. We let Fiona watch that one and she absolutely loves it. Need I say that she loves the Everything comes down to poo song?
I don't watch rated-R movies, either. I don't like the language, especially. I think of those shows, like CSI, as a rated-R movie. I don't like to watch things that I think other people are getting ideas from.
I have always been a sucker for medical dramas. Probably due to my early introduction to medicine and medical terms. I love ER the most.
Oh! and you talking about Top Chef reminded me of the Restaurant, did anyone ever watch that? That Rocco guy was awful!
I didn't watch The Restaurant but I did watch Hell's Kitchen. Talk about a jerk! That was definitely my train wreck show!!!
Oh, and I love watching almost anything on Food Network. Give me Ina, Paula, Rachel, Bobby, Alton or Tyler anyday. We like the local chefs on PBS like Caprial and John too. Although I prefer the days when it was just Caprial. John is a bit of a goofball (and not in a good way).
Fiona loves, I mean loves the Food Network. While we were on our Make a Wish trip we turned on local TV and realized that Paula Deen was about 1/2 an hour away. We almost drove to the TV station to meet her. We love to get their cookbooks from the library and see if we want to make any of their stuff. We had some really good Rachael Ray hamburgers the other night.
The only 2 shows I really care about are Gilmore Girls and The Office. Now that GG is over, I only have one show. I think there's some great educational stuff--History Channel, National Geographic, Discovery Channel of course. And I think some reality shows are really making the world a better place. In particular, the Extreme Home-Makeover Show is seriously a CRYER! It's so inspiring! We are HUGE Food Network fans-esp. my chef-husband. I'm still begging him to start a food blog. I do have one thing to say about the ratings of movies. I think it's all about content. I will watch Amistad or Schindler's List any day. They are real history and having watched them sincerely made me a better person. They are both rated R. But look at SO many PG-13 movies--they are crude, crass, degrading to women, make light of sex...and on and on. It's interesting working with the YW in church, because I've become really familiar with the For the Strength of Youth pamphlet. In it, they talk about content, not ratings. Now I'm not trying to criticize anyone who makes a no-rated R-movie policy. I think that's awesome, and generally, that's my rule. But when something comes out that is historical, I like to research it, and, if I feel like it's going to enlighten me, I watch it. Well, I've gone on FAR too long. Sorry for the soapbox... :)
That ever so long comment didn't come across the way I meant it to. The point of judging media based on content is not that we should be watching more R-rated movies. The point is that we should NOT be watching stuff with bad content. Even if it's rated PG or on TV. For example, I agree that CSI is way too intense. Even with the Office, which we usually LOVE, we have turned it off a couple of times when it was getting crude. Anyway, I hope that makes more sense.
p.s. I'm so glad you're enjoying Mrs. Cropper's Books! When I decided to do it, I hoped it would be a good resource for parents. Yea!
Anne,
No worries, I know what you mean. Ultimately a rating is just a rating and the content is what counts. Thank you LCM for bringing up this topic. It's always fun to compare points of view!
Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
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