I hate Reality TV!!!!!

Okay, I have to get this off my chest. I am so sick and tired of Reality TV!!!! At what point did we as a country decide that we wanted entertainment options that cater to the “lowest common denominator” mindset? I just heard a commercial on the radio for the latest of these mind-numbing, intelligence-insulting, headache-inducing pieces of digitized trash – a show called “Farmer Takes a Wife.” Apparently the premise is a group of “city” women head to the “country” where a “farmer” will put them through the motions of “daily farm living” to pick a suitable mate. Just the radio commercial made me want to bang my head on my desk!

Is it any wonder that we as a nation are getting dumber and dumber with each passing year and generation? We tune into this garbage – mostly because it’s almost impossible to avoid anymore – and we call it entertainment.

Don’t misunderstand me on one very important point. My rant is aimed solely at the staggering number of staged “Reality TV” shows such as “Big Brother,” “Survivor,” “The Bachelor,” “Top Model,” “Beauty and the Geek,” anything on MTV or VH-1, even “American Idol” (from articles I’ve read recently). I’m not referring to shows like “Dirty Jobs,” “Mythbusters,” or “Deadliest Catch” – shows that are not (or at the very least, not as obviously) staged for ratings and the shock factor. And – gasp – you might actually learn something when you watch these shows.

I know Reality TV shows are produced for practically nothing in comparison to the hour long dramas they’re often competing with, which makes them appealing to the money-hungry television networks in their quest to constantly out-do each other. But at what point do we say ‘Enough!’? I’m still angry that shows like “Sports Night” and “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” can’t stay on the air, but “Rock of Love” (starring none other than one of Mechanicsburg’s finest – Bret Michaels) is headed for its 3rd season. I understand that as a rule, most Americans don’t want to have to think when they watch TV, and the vast majority of Americans have no idea what constitutes intelligent comedy when there’s no laugh-track included to inform the mindless drones when to laugh. But, seriously, how do any of these shows qualify as entertainment. What’s next, televised public drunkenness? Oh, wait, that was “Cops.”

Well, enough ranting. I was hoping to go watch an episode of “Heroes,” but I see there’s a 2-hour “Deal or no Deal” on. I guess America just can’t get enough of those stupid silver briefcases…