Jan 09 2009
Bad TV Week
Entertainment Weekly has an interesting column by Ken Tucker every Friday, asking viewers what was the worst TV they’d seen that week. I was happy to see that most of the stuff that I think is absolute dreck made the list. There was a lot of criticism of reality shows like True Beauty and Rock of Love, as well as teen trash 90210 and The Secret Life of the American Teenager. I have a special hatred for the latter show, as they’re advertising it all over our local shopping mall, complete with a photo of a happy pregnant teenager. MSN recently did an article about “Girls Growing Up Too Fast“, where mothers expressed their concerns over teen idols’ influence on their daughters, particularly teens like young mother Jamie Lynne Spears:
“I tried to explain what was wrong with the whole situation,” says Donna. “Lucie’s answer was, ‘But she and her boyfriend love each other, and you said love is important!’ I think I communicated our family values about sex and babies in a way that didn’t confuse Lucie. But she’s so young. I’m not sure she understood all the nuances.”
Certainly, fawning coverage of the birth didn’t help clarify things for young fans. One tabloid cover featured a glowing picture of the teenage Spears cuddling with her daughter, calling motherhood “the best feeling in the world.” Parents are still the main influence on their daughters, but kids have got to be confused when they’re bombarded with contradictory messages.
I realize art imitates life and that TV and films needn’t pretend that teen pregnancy never happens. It’s just that it doesn’t need to be some super cool plot twist on a Disney show aimed at 13 year olds.
Other gripes listed on EW centered around the reality fitness show Biggest Loser. I am glad I am not the only one frustrated and saddened by the hypocrisy of a show that claims to care about overweight people and their health, and then sends them packing every week as public failures. Has no one considered the fact that a lot of these people eat when they are stressed or depressed, and by dashing their hopes for a helpful weight loss program you could send them into a tailspin of overeating and even more weight gain? But you know, I guess helping people without humiliation doesn’t make for good TV.
As more than one commenter said, we lost Eli Stone and Pushing Daisies for this?
So many of the reality shows drive me crazy. They just keep getting worse and worse; it’s like, lets find the lowest of the low in society and splash it all over TV like it’s normal. Gah.
I wanted to watch Scrubs this week, but out of all the dreck that’s on, they decided to put it on against The Mentalist–because of course they want to try to take down the highest rated new show. Instead of just putting it somewhere it will easily win the night, they have to make us choose. It drives me batty. Ergh.