True Confessions

8/21/2011

Strictly entre nous, but I have a confession to make.

First, let me explain that we do not have cable TV. What we do have are rabbit ears perched on top of the TV, and if we’re lucky three PBS stations come in loud and clear. And that’s actually okay with me because unless it has a British accent and a corset, I generally don’t watch it.

But I’ve discovered something - the dark, hard underbelly of American culture. It looks like this:

It was on another Jet Blue flight that I saw on television for the first time, a group of women who were overly made up, coiffed to the heavens and swearing like troopers in a restaurant. A fight broke out. A crazy lady turned over a table. People scattered. Children were wide-eyed. People were poised to punch others. Oh yes, I had discovered The Real Housewives of New Jersey.

Fast forward a year. Those same painted faces kept appearing on magazine covers. Stories of bankruptcy, sex changes, cocaine busts made up the headlines. More housewives shows littered the airwaves but alas, they too were outside my rabbit ear perimeter.

But then I found hulu. And on it, the antidote for sitting at my desk, hunched over, and turning out important prose on world class issues all day, every day. Now I could sit back, feet on desk, arms behind sore neck and enjoy an hour of world class TV after dinner.

I found that with a few key strokes, I can watch short snippets of the RHONJ (see? I’ve even got the lingo down). Two, three minutes tops. I can peek inside the fabulous kitchens. Glance at the obscene closets. Get a gander at the diamonds and Range Rovers. Not to mention feel Melissa's pain as she tries to be a part of the family, or Caroline as her boys (finally) grow up enough to leave home.

“Wow, did she put on weight since Season One,” I’ll say to my cat. "And her, so skinny. Not good."

“The clothes and jewels! How can they afford that?” Buggy might have said back if she was as nuts as me.”

Problem is, Theresa can’t afford the life style and I'm a little worried. She’s supposedly bankrupt, $11 million in the hole, but that doesn’t stop her from being mean to Kathy, who I don’t think deserves it at all. After all, she tried to be nice at Melissa’s party, but then Caroline did nothing to help and Jacqueline just keeps defending her. But after the way her spoiled daughter talked back to her, I cannot judge.

And there I go, down the cultural rabbit hole that is America today. I didn’t realize it but Doc Martin isn’t “where it’s at.” Our culture, at least on the telly, is all about people calling each other filthy names, about discussing their private parts with crass terms, about spending thousands of dollars (that they don’t have) in minutes in stores. It’s about back stabbing and retribution and conspicuous consumption and hatred.

Yes, all fiction needs conflict the way fire needs oxygen. There needs to be a point of no return in Act II and the penultimate chapter where all hell breaks loose (like that christening party! OMG!!)

But this isn’t fiction. Or is it? These are real people who have never left 7th grade, all the while complaining to the camera, “She needs to get over herself. It’s just like she’s still in Junior High!”

No wonder we’re in trouble, people. The party is on 24 hours a day. It’s a never ending light and sound show of spending, swearing, swaggering, and conniving.

No wonder people love Sarah Palin! Either she is the “rill dill” or she’s as stupid, vindictive, and dysfunctional as the other real housewives scattered across our great nation.

I know I’m late to the party, so bear with me. I’m still trying to figure out how to watch an entire episode on hulu, but that might not be such a great idea after all. Besides, I’ve discovered one other freak show that I’ll write about another time.

Listen, I know there are these shows where people live on an island or something. And chefs scream at students and the guy with the orange comb-over fires people. But I’ve never watched one.

Now I’ve seen the light. And I think Theresa is a nut job who needs to get over her brother and stop making trouble with Melissa because she is adorable and I hope her singing career takes off and Kathy should really bake professionally because she’s nice and her desserts look great. And I’m sorry her daughter had a brain tumor. But Kim G. also had a brain tumor and they threw her out of the party. And that wasn’t very nice.

Okay, that’s my confession. Don’t make me look like a complete ass. What’s yours?

58 Comments

CJWhite

8/21/2011 12:22:41 am

If you're going to watch an entire season, I hope you're an atheist, otherwise you will not escape with your soul intact.

elizabeth

8/21/2011 01:21:16 am

I'm slightly addicted to "House Hunters International". No clue why. Just love watching people go into homes,especially those tiny European one, make snarky comments and then I love trying to guess which one they will buy. I've heard it's all staged and the people 'house hunting' have all lived in their homes for months or years. Reality is never 'reality' ever.

I'm not totally ashamed of that and can say proudly I've never watched an episode of anything Kardashian, anything Bachelor(ette) or anything 'Big Brother', HOWEVER I was channel-surfing the other day and stumbled on a very weird show called "My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding". It completely sucked me in. I can't really describe it except to say, take the Kashdashian and really, really trash them up (I know, hardly possible) and you will get a taste of a gypsy wedding. In Gypsy wedding word, the bigger your dress the better and by bigger I mean dresses with skirts so huge the bride can barely walk in them (but walk she does usually in teetering high heels.)

But I do confess I watch 'The Soup' religiously and from there I get just enough of a taste of all these shows to stop me from watching any of them.

But yes, Sarah Palin is the Kim Kardashian of Politicians. Whether that translates into being electable I am very dubious. I for one never stop watching her favorability ratings and they have never, ever gone up, only down from the point people really discovered what she is all about.

Lidia17

8/21/2011 01:25:37 am

The very first one of these sorts of shows that I watched was the first season of the Italian version of "Big Brother". It was a real phenomenon and EVERYbody, from teenagers to grannies, knew something about the characters and had opinions about their behavior. It was THE national soap opera, and as such it was fun to keep track of on a certain level.

What was true about it that isn't so true anymore is that the people involved were not *as* fake as they all are know. And at the time we did not know that these shows tend to be increasingly, if not entirely, scripted.

What seems strange to me is that audiences today know but don't seem to care about their being scripted.

The only reality shows after that that held my attention were "Masterchef" and the Jamie Oliver show "Seventeen", because I really was interested in how amateurs got on in a professional kitchen. While still somewhat manipulative and exploitative, there was some "reality" to be had.

Far more reality outside our front doors, of course…!

Ok, I'm stepping out of The Confessional!

Diane

8/21/2011 01:32:24 am

I read vampire/fantasy/horror books.
Started out with English murder mysteries(the best!) went to regular murder mysteries and then branched out to the other.

I also started reading about King Henry the 8th and Queen Elizabeth the 1st. Went all the way back to Eleanor of Aquitaine.
Don't watch much tv at all, but I love to read!

granny j link

8/21/2011 01:39:15 am

I must admit I have never watched any of these 'reality' shows. My daughters watch them all. But my deep dark confession is that I got hooked on Dexter- and in my more lucid moments I wonder how I can have so much empathy for a serial killer. If you really want to know how terrible I am- I do not even put my fingers over my eyes during the kill scenes! : )

Virginia Voter

8/21/2011 01:46:01 am

Ha...I am Italian American, grew up in Queens NY, with lots and lots of family still there . I can honestly say no one I know of has ever flipped a table, but the rest of RHONJ reminds me of my relatives. The clothes , the cars, the homes, and the petty family infighting are all too familiar. I've lived it. I love my family, but there's a reason I've lived in Virginia for the past 22 years.

Did you see baby Joeys christening? I went to one even more elaborate this past spring on Long Island.

Laura Novak link

8/21/2011 01:48:54 am

Hi VV, No, I can only seem to watch the tidbits that hulu provides. Not sure how I can see the christening. Or the one for the other baby.

Do these people REALLY have the money to live the way they do? It's astounding. Some of them seem so incredibly stupid.

And Granny J: I've heard of Dexter, but have never watched. Imagine that, you don't even cover your eyes!

And Elizabeth: I've watched that house hunters once at someone's house. I guess it's fun. But I had no idea it was scripted. Duh on my part!

az voter

8/21/2011 01:57:41 am

We don't have TV either, not even rabbit ears. My teenage daughter discovered hulu long ago, but I was not interested. However, this summer after a very stressful teaching year, my daughter and I spent three days watching three entire seasons of Jersey Shore. One big toxic binge, and that was it.

Strangely, I felt refreshed afterwards, like I'd been far away in a very different place.

Persephone

8/21/2011 02:08:12 am

My family loves to watch Chopped and Top Chef together. I personally am addicted to Project Runway and Glee. I also just finished watching the entire series of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Oz via iTunes (yeah - I know - those two things really don't go together, but both of them are fantastic!).

mxm

8/21/2011 02:11:22 am

Well, if we are confessing. I watch very little television, MSNBC and Jon Stewart are about the limit for me. EXCEPT, when I exercise, then I pull up various TV shows from Comcast ON Demand. Funny thing, but usually I look for cooking shows. It makes no sense, but I enjoy them while working out and sweating.

Yesterday, I did 45 min of heavy hulu hooping while watching Dance Moms, episode 1. Now that totally took my mind off the workout and the time flew by. Those women are just crazy and their children are so pitiful. There are 5 more episodes on Comcast, so that will be my distracting entertainment for the week ahead. The best part is there are no commercials to interfere with the pace.

Guilty pleasures. We all need them.

WakeUpAmerica

8/21/2011 02:12:07 am

I'm with you on the TV. Most of the channels are mind-numbing. The endless parade of reality shows are enough to gag a maggot.

molly malone

8/21/2011 02:15:44 am

I don't much care for living vicariously via the telly. IMO it is far more entertaining to wander into a biker bar--preferably around midnight, when the chair-smashing and bottle-breaking festivities are in full swing--and join in the fun.

Rudeness, crudeness, ignorance, stupidity, bellowing, brawling, weeping and wailing--who could ask for more or better? Plus there's the added benefit (if you're really lucky) of maybe even winning a tour of the E.R. or the local jail.

"Reality shows"? Pfft.

Frznturd

8/21/2011 02:17:34 am

Put some tinfoil on those rabbit ears - it helps.

comeonpeople

8/21/2011 02:19:21 am

I don't watch much TV at all, but will occasionally watch Top Chef, Project Runway and RH while cooking dinner. I watch Rh for a reality check. I work with kids with cancer all day long and just can't believe that there are Americans who live like Teresa Guidice. Bankrupcy, but still spending like there is no tomorrow. It is just incredible. All those woman need to get over themselves. They have to have loose screws and an addiction to fame, to whore themselves out on TV like this. Most thinking people just use them for entertainment and to laugh at them. I know I do. Project r
Runway and Top Chef are shows I do enjoy. At least these people have a talent and you can learn something from them.

KarenJ

8/21/2011 02:25:23 am

I'm with Diane. Read books incessantly, mostly SF/fantasy, mystery, and the occasional action/adventure (Clive Cussler, Lee Child, that genre). I read to amuse myself and relax.

TV is not my thing, for the most part. I can surf through all 60 channels, and pass by the programs that feature overly-made-up puerile women and men who act out more than 2 year olds (reality shows, cooking shows, big-game-hunter/fisheman/biker/hotrod shows).

I usually end up watching MSNBC for news/punditry, old NCIS shows, an occasional 20thCenturyFox movie, or almost anything on Food Network.

Oh, and I just ended my embargo of TLC: I'm back to watching What Not To Wear -- their new season just premiered a few days ago. THAT'S as trashy as I'll get as a viewer!

8/21/2011 02:53:55 am

Dr. Oz, Mystery Diagnosis, & Ghost Hunters. Hope my secrets are safe with you.

Jen

8/21/2011 02:58:36 am

My secret confession is that I love World War II spy novels. Sad. I also had a professor in college whose secret faves were a series of mysteries wherein Jane Austen solved the crimes. Don't feel too bad. I have also been known to watch episodes of "Bridezillas".

Virginia Voter

8/21/2011 03:02:38 am

Laura...go to Bravo's website, or download the apps if you have an iPad or iphone. Use the Google, websites like Gawker also have hysterically funny write ups on each episode. You tube is a treasure trove of clips.

I can only speak for my family, some of them do actually have that kind of money (a cousin is married to a Joey Gorga like successful ccontractor, another to a commodities trader), and some just spend like they do. It's all about the image, babe.

bob

8/21/2011 03:17:15 am

i'm not a snob but oh my i cannot wait for the return of Downton Abbey!! But note i felt i had to preface this confession by saying i wasn't a snob. That too says something about our culture.

lilly lily

8/21/2011 03:22:05 am

you can see bits and pieces on Youtube. For example my Big Fat Gypsy Wedding.

Talk about wedding gowns? These girls spend their entire lives obsessing about gowns. Take a look at how the men attack the girls and manhandle them at the weddings when they have an eye on a girl they want. All virgins, or else.

These woman are possessions.

I surfed for an hour one afternoon with my jaw open..

Usually pretty young girls who will never work a day in their lives, but be at their mans beck and call.

Someplace I once lived has a cemetery where the gypsies bury their Gypsy Kings. (American not Brit Travelers.) The tribes would descend en masse for a funeral.

Virginia Voter

8/21/2011 03:28:37 am

My guilty pleasures besides Real Housewives are TMZ, True Blood on HBO, and Jersey Shore. I also have been reading the Sookie Stackhouse series this summer. I'm a huge Dog Whisperer fan, and I recently discovered Hillbilly Hamdfishing on Animal
Planet. Who knew Oklahoma was the catfishing capital of the US, or you could catch fish using your hands and feet as bait?

I guess I watch this stuff to sort of balance out my over obsession with news and politics. IThe funny thing is alot of this "reality" tee vee is more of a way for me to escape the reality of every day liife

Laura Novak link

8/21/2011 03:28:40 am

OMG! You guys are like so cracking me up! :-)

I just gave a donation to PBS and ordered the entire Downton Abbey. I have seen it twice on TV and cannot wait to devour it again. I loved loved loved it.

So fun to hear everyone's true confessions. I've heard of these Kardashian people but someone told me they are so stupid that it will knock my socks off. I don't know how much more stupid I can handle.

I am definitely going to check out your suggestions and find that christening scene. The dresses alone - how do these people afford them? And the diamonds!

Don't know if I can handle Jersey Shore. It's bad enough up in north Jersey. :-)

Deb

8/21/2011 03:33:44 am

I'm happy to say I've never watched any of the HW's, Jersey Shore, Bachelor, etc. Why is it the need to reward bad behavior.

As for these 'reality shows that really aren't', they are what I call 'I don't watch Stunned and Stupid' or 'More dumbing down of America' or 'Dumbing down of Women' or 'Rewarding bad behavior'.

It's bad enough that when you may be watching your morning or evening news, their entertainment segment shows more than enough needed.

These people probably don't get paid at most low to mid 6 figures for a few years, yet in their minds, they're 'Stars'. These are the ones that live far beyond their means and in failing, they not only take themselves down, they may cause others failure. It's like trickle down bankruptcies. In the end, we too pay for their 'entitlement belief' as the stores/services that are included in bankruptcies, recover costs by raising prices which we have to pay -- if they can survive the bankruptcies.

It's also said that these 'low hanging celebs' are the ones that 'demand' the most for appearances, interviews, etc. The 'Diva' factor. They're 'STARS' you know!! Showing up with all their hanger-ons at events, interviews and the expense costs is wasteful.

Thanks, but no thanks. If it's a requirement that you have to curse and swear, have cat fights, punch the crap out of someone -- for $$ -- I'll find my $$ somehow, someway. I'm not prepared to lower my standards, my values, my morals to be Stunned & Stupid as they. As a woman, I just can't believe how many women say they 'love' these shows. I'm actually disgusted with that as many then say 'they want women to be taken seriously' - Really?

Acceptance and praising of these shows has allowed the networks and cable to not produce good programming mostly because of cost. If they do put out new shows, some have been yanked after 2 or 3 episodes as they can't hit the 'numbers game'. They aren't even given a chance now. When they 'hit' on a show, they then saturate it with spin-offs like Law & Order and others. There is nothing 'original'. Like moves -- remaking of the 'Classics'. It's like the entertainment business has had a massive 'brain dump' and the public accepts that.

P.S. - Elisabeth - I too do watch House Hunters International. It allows me to see areas of villages and cities and structures and decorating I would not have been able to see otherwise. It has somewhat of an educational value. You could see an area where you might want to take a vacation. As for the people 'buying' - they're all the same. 'I don't like the paint color' - Really?? If you can afford a half million for a property, you can afford a gallon of paint!! I quite often watch it on mute!!

Laura Novak link

8/21/2011 03:52:58 am

You guys really are cracking me up. This is cathartic for a cold, foggy, Sunday morning! Thanks for letting me know I am not alone. Late to the party maybe, but not alone.

Anne in Texas

8/21/2011 04:14:53 am

Mob Wives, My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding, Bryan Adams, and the occasional trashy, historical romance novel. And House Hunters International.

Virginia Voter

8/21/2011 04:15:46 am

Let me just add that I work in retail merchandising for a major toy manufacturer and I also am a brand rep for a well known athletic footwear and clothing company. Part of my job is knowing which celebs are wearing our sneakers and apparel, stations we are advertising on, trends in the marketplace, and so forth. If I didnt know who Pauly D was and that he wore out track pants on last weeks episode, I would not be as effective when speaking to staff in the stores who sell them.

Although it's nice to live in a little liberal bubble, there's a whole big world out there. I have many friends, neighbors, and relatives who are hard core Republicans, and we can still go out to dinner and have a great time. I read and watch everything, not just MSNBC, so I can back up my point of view with a variety of different sources . I'm as liberal a democrat as it gets, but I'm first and foremost a pragmatist . Reality tee vee has become an integral part of our socio economic structure. No one has to embrace it, but to deny it's impact on pur culture is just foolish.

GinaM

8/21/2011 04:34:25 am

Hey my first comment on your blog and it's about a freakin' reality show! Oh well...here's my guilty pleasure...

For a while I was addicted to BRIDEZILLA!! I couldn't get enough of that show....my mouth would literally be hanging open throughout the show. I couldn't understand why these men would marry these crazy ass women! But marry them they did.

I also got hooked on that OCD guy! "Flipping Out" it was called. The next show was the Housewives of Atlanta!! Oh my that show made me so mad...because I lived in Atlanta for a year and knew those chicks were fake! I never watched it after the first season with that stupid fake as reunion show they did!

The last one I watched was "The Braxton Family Values" with one of my favorite singers Toni Braxton...now that show, as brief as it was, was something....all that dysfunction for everybody to see! It actually made me sick to my stomach...and that finished me...some stuff I just don't need to see.

I attempted to watch Tatum O'Neal and her father Ryan O'Neal and it was so painfully fake that I turned it off after 5 minutes! UGH...I just saw that Roseanne has a reality show now!

I bought a Kindle and have been reading three books at the same time!

FrostyAK

8/21/2011 05:18:28 am

Out here "in the wilderness"(according to BP's hacking trial testimony) I have rabbit ears with tin foil flags. No cable available, and tv via DSL phone line is horrendously expensive for little improvement. Unlike those who live in town and have a number of cable companies available for reasonable cost (the $Ps for example). I get NBC, PBS, and most of the time ABC. I'm going to try running an old style antenna wire attached to the rabbit ears out the window and see if I can get more. On extremely windy days I often get none of the above networks.

I used to watch a whole lot of TV - when they actually had well written NOT "REALITY" shows on. I like the Law and Order shows (especially SVU), but not when rerun for the 10th time. My favorites are Bones (forensic anthropologist), and the newer show Harry's Law. Also love Monk, but often cannot get reception on the channel that plays the old shows. Nature and Nova on PBS are often a good watch, but again, not on the 10th rerun.

I'm from the days of good kid's tv shows on Saturday morning - like Lassie, Fury, Sky King, and so many others I cannot call to mind right now. My first 'adult' tv show when a kid was Sea Hunt with Lloyd Bridges. We were restricted about how much tv we could watch. We went outside and actually PLAYED (gasp) back then. Now Saturday morning for kids is mostly sadistic cartoons.

My secret pleasure is fantasy and mystery novels. I especially love the Harry Potter series. As I am no longer able to read them in book form, I have them on audio. I am lucky enough to be able to download many audio books from the library for a 2 week borrowing term. Not Harry tho, so I broke down and bought them on cd.

I believe that there may be a ton of subliminals hidden in the 'reality tv" shows. So easy, and anymore who's monitoring such things? 24 hour saturation with those 'reality shows' may cause brain damage, IMO.

I would not, could not, watch them if they were available to me.

Phyllis

8/21/2011 05:26:06 am

I don't watch reality shows but I love anything science fiction. Books,movies,tv series.
I like Hula for the older documentaries you can find and the older cartoons..
I'm also addicted to vampire fantasy,books and movies.Watched one episode of True Blood and didn't like it. The books were better than the series.
I also like nature shows

HudsonElizabeth

8/21/2011 05:45:17 am

Laura,
A couple of comments from Theresa that you have probably not seen on hulu. In the first season, I think, when I really did not watch much, at one point she said to someone with disgust, "Oh I could never live in a house that someone else had lived in." I went "HUH?" Guess she is not going to be a viewer of Househunters International. And, now we know that they built that castly thing they live in.

Then, I think it was last year, I caught a few minutes of her at a photo shoot for her cookbook (have never seen her in the kitchen, but, she wrote a cookbook). In the photo studio she made mention of all the "ingrediences" she used. Yup! And, then pronounced "cumin" as "come-un". At that the stylist and photographer exchanged glances and tiny little smirks.

I just don't understand those people. To me they are from another planet. Maybe that is why after the first few years of not really watching it, I am now pretty hooked -- it is something totally outside my life experience and as much as I am apalled by them I can't stop watching.

Laura Novak link

8/21/2011 05:45:17 am

I too remember Sea Hunt, Frosty. And how about Daktari (sp?) I could go on and on about those good old days. But now? Not so much. Perhaps the Repugs are not our problem but society in general. Everyone wants to be a star. And I guess by spending the most and shouting the loudest, they get to be. Ugh again.

Viola-Alex

8/21/2011 05:48:38 am

Rabbit ears here, too. I'm addicted to PBS Mystery (-ooooo Wallender, Zen.) while my chef husband loves DWTS. (He hates chef shows.)

Regarding audiences for reality TV-- neither of my adult children watch TV at all. Nada. Don't even own one. So there is a class of 30-something young people who don't.

lilly lily

8/21/2011 06:33:40 am

Don't watch T.V. Not when I grew up, not as a married woman in Switzerland. Did start watching T.V. for a few years in the States, but outside of engrossing things like Watergate and the 2000 election I can't say I found anything really interesting. Maybe that is why I fell into the Sarah trap so readily. Political drama and intrigue. Have known very highly placed politicians so I know what goes on behind the scenes. I do pity most politicians families.

They filmed a Big time soap in our town and it was beyond boring. Gave the locals a bit of income.

I have no T.V.

Surfing on the you tubes is enough.

. People crave excitement and drama.. I prefer it second hand because I have had plenty of drama in my life and know how draining it is.

May you live in interesting times, the old Chinese curse.

And we certainly do.

OzMud link

8/21/2011 06:35:27 am

G'day!

Just this weekend I've purchased the first two full seasons of the BBC TV show "Judge John Deeds" on DVD to send my mother who is recovering from surgery on her hands and feeling out of sorts for not being able to any of her comfort crafting luike embroidery or knitting.

Who could not feel better after spending time listening to the incredibly seductive voice of Martin Shaw?

Closet Judge Deeds Fan...

Casey

8/21/2011 06:43:26 am

We have an HD antenna so we get the local networks, but no cable, so when we go on business trips and have cable at the hotel, OMG! I've watched 3-4 hours of Deadliest Catch at a time! If I'm going to watch reality TV, it needs to at least be somewhat informative. I have standards! :)

Beaglemom

8/21/2011 07:13:44 am

Our evening entertainment is tv and we're quite picky.

There's a promo on HGTV about a new series with a New Jersey Housewife (presumably someone from the series) who has been given a decorating show on HGTV. Nothing that we'll watch.

My husband and I were fans of HBO's "Big Love" and we love TNT's "The Closer"; unfortunately for us "Big Love" ended last year and this is the final season for "The Closer."

Our latest option is Apple-tv with access to movies and lots of British tv, both mysteries and comedies.

And we use our DVR feature a lot so we can watch when we want to and zap commercials if the program has them. I love zapping commercials.

It's also nice to spend an evening reading.

8/21/2011 07:16:36 am

Lie to Me is my favorite show. I don't watch it often, or much tv for that matter... I am a blog junkie... The ones that are trying so fervently to knock the stool out from under Scarahs ass... That is entertainment for me.

aew

8/21/2011 07:21:06 am

Also have an antenna, no cable. Lots of places online to catch entire episodes. We watch the local news mostly for the weather as we're pretty active outside.

Only "reality" show we watch is Amazing Race. I'm hooked on History Channel's Ancient Alien series, lots of BBC offerings like Larkrise to Candleford, Downton Abbey, anything Jane Austen (including the wonderful Lost in Austen). And have you seen the new Sherlock---yum!

Newest addiction is the Song of Ice & Fire saga, i.e. Game of Thrones. Have read all the books, and am patiently waiting for season 2 to begin.

Oh, and we're total Gleeks, too. Especially since Rachel Barry looks just like our youngest daughter.

anon

8/21/2011 07:34:48 am

Yep. Good one. That's exactly what I posted on Syrin's blog.
I firmly believe that Sarah's popularity, appeal, her "base", etc etc. is NOT necessarily Teabaggers, Christian dominionists, homeschoolers.

It's EVERYBODY. It's people who know celebrities by name, but don't recognize the name 'Karl Rove'.
It's the people on Jay Leno's Street Walk.
None of us <i>really</i> know what the issues are and details on matters of State. What we do, is study it and find out. I believe that the majority of Americans know a little bit about a few things, but otherwise abdicate. Assume that the people who are _supposed_ to know, do.
We want an entertainment industry president. That we can watch in weekly episodes. We want to see White House shenanigans. We want a reality show. We'll watch a Senate session IF there's screaming and acting out. Even the great show "West Wing" was a little too deep for an American audience.

Lidia17

8/21/2011 07:57:02 am

@Laura re; Kardashians. My Italian DH and I were watching CSI:NY dubbed in Italian, and he said, "this is one of those Kardashians" …and I said "HUH?" and sure enough the camera lovingly caressed every curve, and the character was dolled up in all the expensive silk and Italian shoes anyone could imagine. You could smell the French perfume through the monitor.

Funnily enough, she'd been cast as the "greedy bad girl" who'd contracted insurance policies on hoboes, rehabilitated them, and then killed them.

Very interesting, if completely throw-away, sociological commentary.

Lidia17

8/21/2011 08:02:51 am

@Laura: cold and foggy? Hell, it' 96° here in the shade.

I came across a commentary regarding contemporary culture: http://thearchdruidreport.blogspot.com/2011/08/twilight-of-meaning.html

THere's a lament for the loss of meaning in the general adoption of corporate, episodic entertainment.

Lidia17

8/21/2011 08:06:07 am

@rf: Lie to Me has been cancelled, more's the pity! Yes, it was formulaic, but I have always loved Tim Roth, plus they'd show real lying politicians including Palin every so often…

senikau

8/21/2011 08:23:44 am

OMG - I can't wait for Downtown Abbey! I have discovered I love Masterpiece Theatre on BBC. Their period pieces are fabulous. I felt a bit down after finishing Downtown Abbey in one sitting. I know..I as hooked what can I say. By the way - if you like Downtown Abbey - you Must and I mean must watch Bleak House (2005). Gillian Anderson from X-Files is Lady Deadlock is amazing. Did you know she grew up in England?
That's my confession - I love British period pieces and I'm definitely not a snob. :)
Also - I love the trainwreck called reality shows. My guilty pleasure.

Lidia17

8/21/2011 08:23:57 am

re: CSI.. I know Sinese is a wingnut. :-(

Lidia17

8/21/2011 08:28:46 am

Wow! Such enthusiasm for Masterpiece Theatre! We don't get that where I am these days, but I remember my adolescence signed by British TV brought to me by PBS Boston: "Monty Python" and "Upstairs, Downstairs".

T.V. Killz

8/21/2011 09:41:28 am

The greatest oxymoron of the 20th century was "reality television." It's a perfect contradiction in terms because those two words are mutually exclusive.

Ironically, the greatest prophecy of the 20th century was shown in a 1976 movie about television called "Network." At one point, Howard Beale ("the mad prophet of the airwaves") proclaims to his millions of viewers:

"Television is not the truth! Television is a goddamned amusement park, that's what television is! Television is a circus, a carnival, a travelling troupe of acrobats and story-tellers, singers and dancers, jugglers, side-show freaks, lion-tamers and football players. We're in the boredom-killing business!

"If you want truth, go to God, go to your guru, go to yourself because that's the only place you'll ever find any real truth! But, man, you're never going to get any truth from us ...

"We'll tell you any shit you want to hear! We deal in illusion, man! None of it's true! But you people sit there -- all of you -- day after day, night after night, all ages, colors, creeds -- we're ALL YOU KNOW !

"You're beginning to believe this illusion we're spinning here. You're beginning to think the tube is reality and your own lives are unreal.

"You do whatever the tube tells you. You dress like the tube, you eat like the tube, you raise your children like the tube, you think like the tube.

"This is MASS MADNESS, you maniacs! In God's name, YOU people are the real thing! WE'RE the illusions!

"So turn off this goddam set! Turn it off right now! Turn it off and leave it off. Turn it off right now, right in the middle of this very sentence I'm speaking now --

At which point, HOWARD BEALE, sweating and red-eyed with his prophetic rage, collapses to the floor in a prophetic swoon."

(excerpted from Paddy Chayefsky's screenplay)

Gryphen link

8/21/2011 10:07:15 am

Okay, now remember this is just between all of us, my secret shame is that I own EVERY season of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" in a box set.

I have a ton of DVDs but it is the ONLY television series I enjoyed enough to purchase.

At one time several years ago, my house was ground zero for BTVS marathons, where my daughter would invite ALL of her friends over and stay up all night watching as many seasons as they could before falling asleep, only to start again the next day.

My big plasma television is in my office and I would have to step over slumbering teenagers to get to my computer in order start work each day.

From what I understand now, five years later, every one of those now young adults have their own BTVS box sets.

And yes I am still considered the coolest dad in town.

8/21/2011 10:30:33 am

@aew.
"BBC offerings like Larkrise to Candleford."

I didn't know there was a show! I bought the book after hearing J.K.Rowling say it was on of her favorites. (Well, she said "favourites.") Same for I Capture the Castle, but I also saw it as a movie.

Another good TV show is CSPAN's Booknotes, when authors discuss their books. For the cable-impaired, many of the shows are now available at their website. Often run all weekend. Laura, if you speak locally about Clari, ask the venue to record you for Booknotes.

Laura Novak link

8/21/2011 11:01:03 am

You guys are amazing. And clearly it's Gryphen who needs an intervention :-) Now we know his secret!!

These RHNJ really are like something from another planet. It's the old "cant' take your eyes off the train wreck" syndrome. Some of them are as stupid as the day is long. And they spend like there's no tomorrow. yet they are broke. It's we who are broke if we applaud this.

VA - Yes, Zen! Fantastico! And Senikau - Yes! Lady Dreadlock 2005. Gillian Anderson was fabu, as was Lady Diana Rigg. Both were amazing productions.

Why do the British have so much more class than we do? Or is everyone going to start throwing things at me if I say that?

Lidia17

8/21/2011 11:16:43 am

@Gryphen, it's a small world: family members of mine are intimate friends with Joss Whedon.

I met the guy when he needed to bum subway fare. Then he hit it big and I asked him if he had to fend off calls from Shearson and Lehman. He said, "I'm doing bong hits with Shearson and Lehman." ;-)

8/21/2011 12:21:49 pm

I'm also a rabbit ear person.

My guilty secret is Cheaters, which used to air on an oscure UHF station in a neighboring metro area. It is a show in which real people who suspect their beloved is untrue work with a detective agency to learn the truth. Show host Joey Greco sports a soul patch and speaks like a film noir detective. It made One of E!'s top 100 lists after Joey Greco was shot on camera by a cheater. Story lines are so lurid as to make the RH look like Sandra Dee or Gidget.

ann_s link

8/21/2011 01:15:47 pm

Except for the house Hunters shows and Deadliest Catch , I just cannot watch the reality shows. I know I would be totally hooked on the various train wrecks and that would be the end of all the real things I do in my life. After all, the train wreck is why we keep up with the Palin's and that is enough for me. I just can't believe anyone sends her money.
I will try some new BBC pieces. They have always been so great! I have never even seen American Idol and Ryan Seacrest is my neighbors law partner's son.

Freddy el Desfibradddor

8/21/2011 11:40:49 pm

Our tv viewing was "off the air only" until the digital transition - then our station availability went way down, so we got a basic cable/internet bundle (we'd also been dial-up). If money gets tight, we'll probably put up an external antenna if broadcast digital is still an option then.
We love "Doc Martin", and "House, MD" also too (have the latter on DVD). Otherwise, we have few tv favorites - "Big Bang Theory" - which we call "the nerds", and reruns of Poirot and Sherlock Holmes (Jeremy Brett). Our cable system gives us access to foreign news in English like Al Jazeera, France24, RT (Russian - they have American Thom Hartmann four nights a week). Most of our viewing time is DVDs, sometimes from the Redbox rental vending machine, but predominantly from the library - yesterday we watched two different dramatizations of "Mansfield Park" back to back - this is the sort of thing we find interesting.
G.I. Gurdjieff, the dance teacher/author/cult leader who died in 1949, wrote of "three kinds of food." Food food, of course; air; and "impressions" i.e. sensory inputs, information, stories and intellectual categories, emotional atmospheres. We are talking about the "food of impressions" here, and as someone said (not Gurdjieff) you fill your mind with the things you fill your mind with. In other words, where you put your attention has consequences for your mental capabilities, and your outlook on life, that go beyond the immediate. And of course it also matters what attitude you take towards what you are viewing, reading, etc.

suzanne

8/22/2011 01:08:37 am

My daughter, who doesn't have cable, asked me t tape these shows. She then comes out to watch a marathon and of course, I'm there, so... And I just have to say: Theresa, come on with those outfits on the girls for the christening. Please. They were horrible unless KingLouis the XVI was coming.

lilly lily

8/22/2011 01:34:03 am

I realized something.

When my husband was alive, were in the middle of so much drama on every level (little of it personal) that knowing the true story behind the headlines made me leery of Newspapers in general. REAL LIFE. Gripping. But it is all classified.

I couldn't handle what I lived through in the past.. I prefer my drama second hand. And a peaceful life.

Something I learned. There is no one reality..Reality is like beauty, in the eye of the beholder.

I do like the Brits BBC offerings. So much produced by Hollywood was sugar candy too sweet for consumption, too contrived, so we usually, though it sounds snobbish, prefered European movies.

More in Hollywood seems geered for the lowest denominater, ditto T.V..

I loved Marathons and watched 5 or 6 movies in a row when we had very good rental venues, via Beta and VHS. Once my T.V. sets shorted out in a lightning storm, I stopped.

The internet seems to have pre empted T.V in my own life, though I had a vast library of films. A full file cabinet full. We used to loan them to cancer victims who were home bound, and they were much appreciated.

Garbage is garbage, and class is class.

Garbage can be fun. Class can be boring.

I like a mix.

Anna

8/26/2011 10:52:48 am

I agree with you Bob. I expect people to behave with some sense of human dignity and compassion.

Laura, the people you are describing on these shows seem to have little rudder control, too much money, too much free time, are self involved and yet not self aware. My children were never exposed to such waste of human potential. What you are describing appears to be child abuse.

One time a very dear friend gave me some good advice: It is OK to be a snob. You really don't need to wallow in human decay. Pick your friends carefully.

I think this also applies to television viewing.

anna

8/26/2011 02:27:36 pm

I can watch "Lark Rise to Candleford," "Doc Martin" and "Clatterford" over and over endlessly and still find something I missed. Indeed, the Brits have one up on us at the entertainment factory. "CLatterford" is priceless.

Laura Novak link

8/27/2011 12:39:55 am

Thanks for that Anna! I've not heard of Clatterford before. I will look it up.

And you're right, those RHs have little control, or they control it entirely for the cameras. However, that means that they know,or the producers know, that Americans have an appetite for garbage: crass women screaming at each other, men saying dirty things to women. It's all SOOOOO inappropriate to my mind. These aren't ladies at all. Despite the jewels and the nails and the designer shoes. Besides where DO these people get the money for this stuff?

True Confessions

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