Mind Candy
Well, given that the only feedback to my inquiry was positive, y’all have only yourselves to blame… 
TV — I watch it, and like watching it, both probably more than I should. My mind is cluttered with a plethora of useless pop-culture trivia… TV, movies, music, sports, etc. - particularly as relates to the 80’s. I must also confess that I like “reality” TV. I know it’s not “real” reality, it’s unscripted TV, where the Heisenberg Principle is fully in effect; however, when it’s well done, it can be highly entertaining without being unduly exploitative.
My wife & I started watching the genre back with what I would contend is the granddaddy of them all, The Real World. The first season (New York) was actually quite interesting, and nowhere near the cesspool that TRW has become. The 2nd (L.A.) season went downhill & wasn’t all that good, and the 3rd season (San Francisco), while beginning to show signs of the seedier side of the genre (e.g., Puck), was quite interesting. The 4th season (London), quite honestly, sucked, and we stopped watching TRW.
All was quiet, then, until Survivor arrived. I fought getting drawn into the hype, until about halfway through that first edition. After that, though, I was hooked. In many ways, that first Survivor was the best, because it was the “purest” - the participants more or less invented the game, while those since have merely refined it. The strategic & interpersonal elements of Survivor are also quite interesting to watch. It’s not high art/culture, but it is entertaining.
Let me interject at this point a disclaimer: there is most certainly an ugly side to the genre, where the shows are thinly veiled excuses to titillate/humiliate/exploit. In this classification I would place shows like: Fear Factor, The Bachelor(ette), Joe Millionaire, My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance/Boss/Etc., pretty much any WP/UPN show, etc. There’s not a whole lot of intelligence to these shows — they pander to the basest of emotions.
From this more prurient sub-genre, I would exclude my favorite shows: Survivor, The Amazing Race, The Apprentice, & American Idol. Here are some brief comments on these shows (and I’m sure I’ll wax more verbose in the near future!):
I’ve already discussed Survivor a little. The current edition (Palau) is only 3 episodes in, but it’s shaping up to be a pretty good edition. If Koror doesn’t get stupid, they should be able to control things, and I like Tom’s chances to go far in the game.
The Amazing Race, quite simply put, rocks! It is, all things considered, my favorite of the four shows. The 7th edition just started this past week, so it’s a little early to handicap the winners, but I do like the chances of Rob & Amber (of Survivor fame) to go quite a ways in the race.
The Apprentice is another one that I fought at first, mainly because of the Trump factor. I must admit, however, that this is really a well-done show. In fact, in many ways it’s better produced than Survivor (both shows are produced by the same guy - Mark Burnett). Currently, we’re about 7 episodes in to the 3rd edition, and I think this is the best one yet. Pitting the “book smart” college grads against the “street smart” self-made high school grads has proven to be very, very compelling & interesting to watch. I think that the best candidate, by far, is John (”street-smart”) — as long as he’s not stupid (and he hasn’t shown any such tendencies thus far), it’s his to lose.
And, finally, American Idol… it’s certainly the most ubiquitous, being on 2-3 nights a week. While it’s actually more of an old-fashioned talent show, the fact that it’s unscripted plants it in the current genre of “reality TV.” (Granted, the early season, audition shows do kind of pander, what with their focus on the bad & delusional “candidates” more so than on the good ones…) We’re still early on in the process, 2/3 of the way through whittling the top 24 down to the Top 12. Once that group has been selected by America, then the weekly grind of banishing the lowest vote-getter will begin. It’s fascinating & entertaining to watch, and, by-and-large, it’s the most wholesome of the top 4. It’s a bit early in the process for me to even have an inkling about who I want to win, but if I do like Scott Savol & Bo Bice on the guys side, and I think that Carrie Underwood is going to be tough to beat on the girls side.
Well, this overview has gone on longer than I meant it to, and I didn’t even touch on the scripted shows that I like, like LOST, Jack & Bobby, Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Enterprise, Scrubs, & Two and a Half Men, much less other cool stuff like TIVO, sports, & technology!
The rest will just have to wait for a later date…
-ghp
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