Reality shows. They're proof we'll watch just about anything no matter how much of a waste of time it is.
I blame it on America's continued and baffling fascination with so-called celebrities. How else do you explain the appeal of the Kardashians ?
Only in America could you turn a leaked sex tape into fame and fortune through a reality show and spin-offs.
I agree with Hank Stuever, TV critic from The Washington Post, who said it best when he wrote about NBC's Hollywood Game Night. He says it "serves as another reminder that we live in a sad, unimaginative era of acquiescence to celebrity status."
Stuever notes, "Large swaths of network TV -- from morning shows to late-night, from midday to afternoon to prime time -- have been given over to constant, publicist-pleasing opportunities for stars to advance their own brands. Celebrities no longer have to prove that they are talented; they mostly have to prove that they are always good company."
The new season of Hollywood Game Night is underway and a new episode airs at 9 p.m. today. Tonight's "good company" celebrities are Debra Messing, Katharine McPhee, Will Arnett, Meredith Vieira, Melissa Fumero and J.B. Smoove.
Another celebrity suck-up: Running Wild With Bear Grylls that airs at 9 p.m. Mondays on NBC.
The series, boasting "A-list celebs," puts them in the woods and out of their comfort zone for a couple of days while cameras follow. Kate Hudson's episode has already aired, but future offerings will feature New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family), Ed Helms (The Office), Kate Winslet (Titanic), Michelle Rodriguez (Furious 7), James Marsden (30 Rock) and Michael B. Jordan (Friday Night Lights).
Granted, Winslet is A-list, but Brees and Hudson are a solid B and the rest would be happy if you remembered their names.
Stuever quotes Comedy Central's Daniel Tosh, acerbic host of Tosh.0, when he ranted, "You sheep would watch paint dry if it was called Celebrity Paint Dry."
Is being on television enough to make anybody a celebrity? It would seem so.
I once met someone who went on and on about the magical moment he found himself pumping gas next to longtime KATV chief meteorologist Ned Perme. The fact that Perme took the time out of his busy pumping to nod and ask, "How's it going?" evidently made a lifelong impression.
Maybe all those years going out to Hollywood and chatting up celebrities on press tours has made me jaded (I've actually met Messing, Arnett and Vieira), but there are a few "reality" moments that stick with me. And not in a good way.
Best example: In July 2002, a dazed and confused Anna Nicole Smith chose to sit at our table at a press tour lunch event touting her new E! reality program The Anna Nicole Show.
Smith had just mumbled her way though a 15-minute Q&A session that included her manipulative boyfriend/attorney Howard K. Stern and her miniature poodle Sugar Pie.
The four of us at our table tried to make the obviously overwhelmed Smith feel comfortable while she nibbled lettuce and slipped chicken tidbits to Sugar Pie.
One sympathetic reporter finally asked if Smith was concerned that E! had given her a reality show just to hold her up to ridicule as "a dumb blonde."
"Yeah, sure," Smith mewed, then added, "but it's OK. It really is OK."
For the record, The Anna Nicole Show debuted on Aug. 4, 2002, with the then-highest rating ever scored for a cable reality show. It lasted two seasons before we didn't care anymore.
Was E! exploiting Anna Nicole Smith? Of course it was. But we watched the train wreck anyway. We watched just as we watched Honey Boo Boo, the Duggar clan, little people, Snooki, real housewives, hoarders, rogue Amish, toddlers and their tiaras, and the moms of Cheer Perfection.
All that said, another round of reality shows arrive today and Wednesday. Here's the lineup for those who indulge.
• Little People, Big World, 8 p.m. today, TLC. Season 9 continues with wedding preparations and a reality check.
• My Giant Life, 9 p.m. today, TLC. Series premiere. Four women who are over 6-foot-6 tell their tall tales of woe.
• Duck Dynasty, 8 p.m. Wednesday, A&E. Jase and the guys remove pests from other people's property.
• Wahlburgers, 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, A&E. Season 4 premieres at the Wahlberg Boston restaurant.
• Donnie Loves Jenny, 9 p.m. Wednesday, A&E. Season 2 premiere. Yep, Donnie Wahlberg and Jenny McCarthy are still married and moving to Chicago.
• Lachey's Bar, 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, A&E. Series premiere. Brothers Nick (the semi-famous one) and Drew Lachey fulfill a lifelong dream of opening a bar in their hometown of Cincinnati. Do you care? Of course you do.
The TV Column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Email:
mstorey@arkansasonline.com
Style on 07/14/2015