Terminalcoffee discussion

What reality series would you not watch and hit someone with a 4 by 4 for even considering?

My Very Sweet Sixteen: I wouldn't 4x4 someone but watching some clips makes me weep over the next generation.

I have never seen American Idol. The only reality show I ever watched was...what in the goddamn hell was it? Some show where they put slutty people on an island and had them compete with each other for something. It wasn't Survivor. It wasn't Temptation Island. Two girls won and split the prize. It was horrifying.

And I watched some of that Bret Michaels show on VH1. Like a car crash, I tell you...

Date My Mom!

The two upcoming newtork shows with real arranged marriages. Those just disgust me. Sanctity of marriage, indeed.

Random: Power of Love (Bret Michaels) or the Bret Michaels goes back to school.

I admit. I surf wikipedia to see these new reality series pop up to laugh at the premise.

Temptation Island made me gag. I don't want American Idol. If I had to, it would be the auditions only.

But I do get sucked into Project Runway, Top Chef, Top Design, etc. I find it fascinating to see what people create!

I love Top Chef. The 'Top Chef Masters' debut last night played like a strange cover version, and served to prove to me how delicate the chemistry of those shows can be. We couldn't stand the Padma stand-in.

Love love love "So You Think You Can Dance" entertaining and fun!

and I will NOT watch the Octomom's show on (exploiting) her children - NO THANKS! I will not enable that trainwreck.

I fear Octomom or any of those multi-children shows

I find Mom Swap particularly repulsive, myself.

I saw something recently on VH1 called "Charm School", or something like that, in which slutty rejects that even Bret Michaels wouldn't bang again are given etiquette lessons. Needless to say, these whores fail miserably.

VH1 is a cesspool of garbage programming. What a shame.

Agreed very heartily with Melissa on So You Think You Can Dance. I find myself becoming emotionally invested in the contestants. And, for what it's worth, even though she's a psycho and impossibly bitchy, I have a massive crush on Mia Michaels. Grrrrrowl!

Anyone watch Wipeout? Yeah, it's a rip-off of MXC: Most Extreme Challenge, but I find myself laughing maniacally. You guys should check it out, just for the dumb factor: it's loud and dumb and funny as hell.

Gus wrote: "even though she's a psycho and impossibly bitchy, I have a massive crush on Mia Michaels. Grrrrrowl."

She has good hair this year! She loves cutting....people.

If you like Wipeout, have you watched Ninja Warrior?

I'm not that crazy about Ninja Warrior. It's disrespectful to ninjas everywhere.

Speaking of warriors, Spike TV recently aired a new series called Deadliest Warrior. A brief synopsis:

Deadliest Warrior is a non-scripted series that puts feared combatants (episodes include “Spartan vs. Ninja” and “Pirate vs. Knight”) against each other while a team consisting of a biomedical engineer, ER doctor and physician, and computer whiz analyze the lethal potential of both warriors. The show culminates with a head-to-head battle.

This appeals to the inner Samurai geek in me. It's a pretty cool show, albeit very violent and gory.

I watched Wipeout a lot. Next week, the second season of I Survived a Japanese Game Show airs on ABC! YAY! I crack up at the hilarious games.

Charm School is the one repulsive "guilty" pleasure I'll watch. Makes me gag to see what people will do and yet I cannot help but laugh at their absurdity. Or maybe there's some addictive air waves perminating from the television forcing me to watch week after week.

The Rock of Love Charm School Reunion was pretty good when Sharon Osborne fought one of the contestants for saying BLEEP about her family.

Oh, my kids and I love Wipeout...I forgot about that one...nothing funnier than watching people bounce off of those huge balls and hit the water...

I once happened upon a Pussycat Doll reality show, where girls were competing to be the next Doll.
It was truly a trainwreck of catty behavior, hideous fashion, and best (worst?) of all, trashy dance moves.
I couldn't tear my eyes away, but I never watched it again.

Someone said they liked Top Chef and Project Runway, and I do, too, though I'm not currently watching them. Not so much shrieking in those, because the contestants are too busy actually doing something.

I used to watch Beauty and the Geek, too, which was interesting. They weren't competing in love, but in social skills and in book learning. It was a fascinating experiment.

Many of the Beauties were college students, and many of the Geeks just needed a little grooming, which I thought undermined the premise of the show. They were the ones who tended to win, of course.

I enjoy Top Chef. I like the contestants because they are professionals, and they are participating in the show as a career move and for publicity.

What I can't understand is how many of these reality people have become stars. Even though I've never watched The Hills, I'm ready to vomit about how much attention these people get. I hate Speidi with unbelievable passion.

And what is this with Jon & Kate? I'm NOT INTERESTED but they are plastering the covers of so many magazines. Stop whoring your children for attention and money.

On this subject line...what's the next reality series to come?

I'm thinking the Sonny Bono: The Gender Swap

Sally wrote: "I enjoy Top Chef. I like the contestants because they are professionals, and they are participating in the show as a career move and for publicity. "


Love, love, love Top Chef. One of my favorite meals on that show was when ack forgot his name H-Chef made the epic cereal-breakfast land! It was colorful!

COnsidering that Sonny is dead, I think that show would be downright creepy.

*laughs* I meant their child. My mind swapped on the name! Ahahahahaha.

Big Brother is beyond gross. Two of the houseguests actually had sex on camera on it a few years ago. (Under a blanket.) Then viewers were treated to the scene with nightvision cameras. But even it that hadn't happened, it's the most revolting show ever. Idiotic. Julie Chen is a moron.

Then there's Bachelor Pad which I haven't watched but it's rejected contestants from Bachelor and Bachelorette, hooking up in a mansion. Lots of bikinis and tears. Doubtless unbearable.

I like So You Think You Can Dance & So You Think You Can Dance Canada; America's Next Top Model and Canada's Next Top Model; Project Runway & Project Runway Canada. My husband likes Gene Simmons Family Jewels. I don't mind it.

That's it for reality tv in this household.

I like some of the documentary-type ones, the two Hoarding shows, Obsessed. They count as reality TV but the mood is different. They're so psychologically interesting and at base, so sympathetic. Plus I certainly know people like that and it's taught me a thing or two about how to deal with it, as well as getting me to reflect on my own relationship to material objects.

On Netflix last week I watched the first season of one called "Heavy" about huge people trying to lose weight. Everybody who's snotty about fat people, I'd like to sentence them to watch that show and see what they're actually dealing with.

Of the competition-type shows, my roommate likes the cooking ones so I end up seeing some of those because of him, and they're all right.

I remember The Mole!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I loved it!

I like Project Runway, but that's about it for me. My husband watches more reality TV than me; he prefers shows like Deadliest Catch, Swamp People and Hell's Kitchen, so I end up watching them and they're o.k., but not something I would choose to watch on my own.

I can't stand shows like The Bachelor/ette, Survivor, American Idol, etc. Generally any show where it's a competition to see who the biggest jerk is, or who can give the most mediocre rendition of a famous (and generally overplayed) song.

Gordon Ramsay gives me hives. What a dickweed.

I can not turn off the TV when "Intervention" is on. I sit on the couch with my glass of wine and if anyone tries having a conversation with me I threaten them with death by food poisoning. Some of the episodes (heroin, especially) are PAINFUL to watch but I still can't stop.

It would be a shorter list if I shared the ones I do watch. In most of them, the obligatory girl fights are obviously scripted or they've at least been told to be over dramatic. Some people will do anything, and I mean anything to get on tv.

I watch The Amazing Race, Project Runway and all the Top Chef shows religiously. I watch American Idol sporadically, and that's it.

Speaking of reality shows, I need to get off the damned evil time-sucking computer and do the laundry. And call the cable company. And cancel the credit card I lost. I'm so interesting.

Jammies wrote: "I watch The Amazing Race, Project Runway and all the Top Chef shows religiously. I watch American Idol sporadically, and that's it."

What does that look like? Are you on your knees in front of the TV?

"sporadically:

adverb:

in a sporadic manner, infrequently"

I think you are thinking of spasmodically. :p

Referencing "religiously," Jammies.

I was forced to sit through an episode of Jersey Shore back when the show first started (my sister watched it). Not only would I have liked to hit everyone in the room with a 4x4 at the time, but I would have been sure to install very large nails in the ends of them, to ensure no survivors.

I secretly love to hate the 'bad behaving bridal' shows. I adore them because not only did I not have a wedding, I would never have spent the thousands of dollars that those over the top one day affairs run. Nor do I believe I would ever have the nerve to act so self centered and spoiled.

Still, I wish had a sparkly wedding dress and a vail, good hair/ make up, a yummy red velvet cake and good photos. The rest, meh, it's only for one day.

I'm with you Suefly. My mom was pretty skimpy with the dollars back in 1982, so we put on a pretty lame reception. OH WELL. (Let it go, Cynthia.) Still married, to the same dude, that is what matters...

Cynthia wrote: "Referencing "religiously," Jammies."

Yeah. Cynthia gets my code. I meant the religiously part.

The Mole...that was a weird show. The Bachelor franchise could be so much better, if they would just cast normal people and not make it so scripted. It has so much potential to be truly entertaining, as opposed to a parade of breast implants and chiselled abs mouthing the same inanities season after season.

Big Brother, Jersey Shore, Geordie Shore, I love New York, The Only Way is Essex, Survivor, etc.

Cynthia wrote: "I'm with you Suefly. My mom was pretty skimpy with the dollars back in 1982, so we put on a pretty lame reception. OH WELL. (Let it go, Cynthia.) Still married, to the same dude, that is what matte..."


here here!

Where? Where?

Wear? Wear?

Their, their!

Chop Chop!

Larry wrote: "Cynthia wrote: "Referencing "religiously," Jammies."

Yeah. Cynthia gets my code. I meant the religiously part."

Oh, fine, take all the fun out of being literal, you two. *sulks*

Jammies, you kill me.

Cynthia wrote: "Jammies, you kill me."

Was that a request? Because Iowa's not currently on the map for my multi-state killing spree, but I guess I could skip Montana...

I'm ready to go on a multi-state killing spree.

Cynthia wrote: "Jammies, you kill me."

And eats your brains?