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2003-01-22 - 10:31 p.m. Enough with the reality television! I�m sorry Mrs-Roboto . I know that you (among others) truly enjoy Blind Date, The Bachelor, High School Reunion, The Real World, Fear Factor (which might as well be called Disgusting things I�ll eat for money), American Idol, Survivor, Star Dates, etc., etc., and while I respect your opinion I gotta disagree with you. The way I see it, all that reality television really is, is a cheap way for the networks to make money. Okay, maybe not all of them are produced so cheaply but come on, you cannot tell me that a show like Blind Date costs anywhere near as much as a sitcom like ? or a drama like CSI. But for every season that we watch shows like Blind Date, at least 5 more variations will be slated for the next one. The �reality� genre is rapidly growing out of control edging out more and more regular programming like a cancerous tumor crowds out healthy tissue. An example of some of the new shows coming our way: The Will � friends and family duke it out over an inheritance from a dearly departed. Oh, and a two year show in which we the viewers will be able to vote for a people�s choice candidate for the upcoming presidential election. Now, while this might sound almost like a good idea think an hour long political commercial masquerading as a show crossed with a talent show to see who can lie the best. Some of you may be saying �So what. Its all entertainment.� But is it? I watched half an episode of Blind Date last week and not only was their conversation less than scintillating, it was downright stupid. She said she couldn�t understand people who only showered once a day. He said he showers once every couple of days. Yawn! Hell, for more excitement than that I can just look out my window any evening after 10; there�s usually a knock-down dragged out brawl between the young couple up the block. But even that begins to pall after the fourth or fifth accusation of infidelity, ugly epithet about the female genitalia, and threat to �bitch slap you upside your head boy!� There�s a reason why Friends is still popular; its called a script. In reality, very few people are as witty as Chandler or as quirky as Phoebe. (Exception to the rule: Dennis Miller but then again even he has writers to help him.) There aren�t many na�ve Joeys running around setting you up for the perfect punch line. Not only are these characters funny but they are played by talented and exceptionally good looking actors. Now this may be shallow but I�d rather be looking at the pretty people that make me laugh than at the balding guy with bad teeth and his overly made up blind date that bore me to tears. If the balding guy was as funny as Matthew Perry or the obsessively clean girl was at least a funny obsessive a la Monica then maybe I�d enjoy watching them too (though I doubt it). The way I see it, the more reality TV shows the less good TV shows like Friends or CSI (or whatever other non-reality show you love). The less regular TV, the less actors on TV. Now maybe some people will consider this a good thing. Less professional actors - more work for us, the regular folks. Sure this seems like a good thing until eventually we�ll all just be living our loves in front of the cameras watching other regular folks living theirs. Or worse still, the actors will all get in on the act (its happening already - Celebrity Mole, Celebrity Fear Factor, StarDates, and now Surreal life). While these folks are easier on the eyes, they�re still not all that much better when it comes to dialogue. Don�t get me wrong, there are plenty of actors who are brilliant and I would love to hear what they have to say, but I sincerely doubt those are the ones that will end up on these shows. Take Celebrity Mole: a former Victoria Secret model, the smarmy guy from LA Law, the most annoying woman on television (AKA Kathy Griffin), Tootie, and a Baldwin. Are we really supposed to be bowled over by this assemblage of �talent� Frankly, I�m not impressed and I don�t think you should be either. But hey that�s just my opinion, I could be wrong. Drink of the Day: Glam Trash � 
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