Reality television shows have spawned on every television network imaginable faster than an outbreak of mad cow disease. Reality is everywhere you turn. Turning on the television for some simple entertainment has evolved into a mission to escape reality. No longer can you tune into the Three Stooges for a simple laugh and escape from reality. It's there, staring you right in the face. To add insult to injury, the vast majority of viewers pay high cable and satellite bills for this reality check.
Leading the way in the reality zone is VH1 with shows like "The Surreal Life", "Flavor of Love", and the god awful "I Love New York". Where did these writers come up with this concept?
I could sum these shows up in a few lines, but why? It is just to tempting to dig a little deeper into them. Get inside the characters and explore their climb to success and ultimately their fall from grace to landing on these reality shows. My mother once told me, "son when you have reached the pinnacle of your career, that is the best time to make your graceful exit". The vast majority of these actors and actresses at one point in time were our favorites, our heroes and heroines. As viewers and fans we could not wait to see them grace the silver screen or step onto the stage and perform. All good things must come to an end, so must a successful career in front of the camera. Making the grand exit from the lime light and sinking into main stream society. Some simply refuse to do that and leave their fans with a sweet taste in their mouth. Instead the fans are forced to see their once favorite performer waddle in self pity, and expose all their Achilles tendons before a nation wide audience. After all they are just human right!
Would it not be better to remember them as they once were or to graph a new image in your mind?
Does the public really need to know all the intimate details of how the performer fell from grace. Well folks I guess that is entertainment. I also suspect we are going to be forced to know the intimate details of the superstars of former years life story. Like it or not.
If art imitates life, god help us all. If it were to be the other way around, we all need Prozac.
