Dear Reality TV

Dear Reality TV,

You've betrayed my trust. Again. Yes, I know I am foolish for trusting your shady ways. I know that your episodes are contrived and your scenes are scripted. Yet, you still call yourself "reality", and in my eagerness, I believe you. That's right, I believed you back when I watched "Newlyweds". I even bought the DVDs. Don't tell anyone that. I was so happy to see a Hollywood couple married and in love. I just knew they were going to be role models. Not.So.Much. When I found out Jessica & Nick were divorcing, it really upset me. I threw away the DVDs and swore off Hollywood. I canceled my subscription to "In Style" and stopped going to movies. That left me with... TV.

And you struck again. I got caught up in American Idol, Project Runway, Top Chef, So You Think You Can Dance... and the list goes on. These shows treated me right. No one's life was terribly altered by your schemes. Sure, people lost game shows about singing and fashion, but in the end, everything was OK. I began to slowly dip my toes into more serious reality shows. I got hooked on a little show you may know: "John and Kate Plus 8". You really had it in for me with this show. For two years, I watched, I laughed, I cried. But I always cried out of happiness. I loved their kids. I longed for the newest episodes to pop up on my DVR. I recommended the show to friends. I thought, "They are a great family. They are showing what it is like to be devoted to family and make the best of a tough situation. They are Christian parents and have a strong marriage." But that was just what you wanted me to think... wasn't it?

So recently, amidst plentiful negative press surrounding Jon & Kate, I have held fast, saying, "Those are just tabloids! They are doing fine! They will never break up. Don't say that about Jon & Kate!" Well, reality TV, my words were worthless. Last night, I settled in with a delicious dinner and the season premiere of Jon & Kate. From the moment the show started, I hated it. It felt weird. Terrible. Awful. Depressing. I actually said to Brent, "Turn this off!" It was horrid. It was far worse than I thought. Their family is falling apart before our very eyes on cable TV. And you, reality TV, were gleefully cheering from the sidelines and handing Kate Kleenex as she sobbed on camera about her marriage falling apart. REALLY?! Do we really need to see this? My stomach sank. I was wrong. They are not perfect. They are not even fine. Here's where I REALLY have a problem with you, reality TV.

Not only are you NOT reality, but you make the stars of your shows feel as if their filmed life actually IS reality. You create a warped reality both for the people on the show and the people watching the show. I know that nothing can be perfect, but I really wish you wouldn't portray that, only to dash our hopes with a horrible, tear soaked episode. Now, I know it's not all your fault. There ARE the stars of the show to blame... what are they thinking? Jon & Kate totally bought into the false reality that their show gave them. Kate loves the fame, the makeup, the clothes, and the book tours of her new famous life. She loves them so much she is willing to sacrifice her family. That is not OK. Jon, on the other hand, has become overwhelmed by his new life, so he has decided to run off and leave his family. Are you kidding me?

Last night's episode was a sober reminder to me that satan is hard at work to destroy every good thing God has given us in life. No, I'm not talking about you, Reality TV. But the shows you air are about life and marriage and family, and satan is certainly trying to destroy all that. I can no longer watch your shows and think of them as an escape. I now have to think about the REAL reality behind the shows.

I'm tempted to give you up all together. But I know that my boycott alone will not bring down your multi-trillion dollar empire. So I will probably keep watching. Maybe. But don't disappoint me again. Please. Thank you.

Gleeful

Maybe you missed it. Maybe you didn't watch American Idol last night. Maybe you thought it looked silly. Maybe you've never heard of it before. Maybe you're burned out on High School Musical. I'm sure you have some excuse for not watching Glee last night... but it's not good enough!! You've got to check it out. It's currently my favorite TV show for fall.

The makers of Glee preyed upon people just like me - people who swoon over American Idol and walk around thinking maybe, just maybe we could do that!!! There have been commercials for Glee for the past few weeks during American Idol. They figured they would get all the people who like cheese and drama and singing, preferably all together. Since Brent is out of town this week, I have a little more leeway in my TV watching. I'm pretty sure once he finds out about Glee, it's going to be relegated to the DVR, so I enjoyed it while I could.

I was kind of embarrassed to watch it, to be honest, and I was glad to be home alone. It started out a bit slow, but by ten minutes in, I was HOOKED. I love the characters, I love the premise of the show, I love the music, I love the dancing, and I love the irreverent teacher jokes. The show is about a glee club (show choir) at a high school. The glee club used to be good back in the day, but now it's terrible and a hangout for nerds. There is a super hot new teacher at the school, though, and he (surprisingly enough!) has a passion for glee club! Imagine the luck! He persuades the principal to let him take over the club, but the principal thinks he's crazy and actually makes him pay $60 a month to keep the club. He quickly discovers that the glee club is REALLY bad. They've got the obligatory preppy girl-next-door, large African American girl that sings R-E-S-P-E-C-T for her audition, an Asian girl, a jock, and, wait for it... a kid in a wheelchair. The whole show is about them trying to find their place in High School and actually be good at singing and dancing.

They definitely got good really quickly, because they were choreographed and in tune at the end of the pilot episode. So I'm not entirely sure what the rest of the season is going to be about, but I'm in. Now I have to wait till like September for the real season. Ugh. I'm not going to lie that I really liked the song at the end of the episode. Teaching. Singing. Dancing. Yes, please.

You can watch the entire episode at fox.com, which I highly suggest. Or you can watch the trailer below.

P.S. Fire up your DVRs! So You Think You Can Dance starts tomorrow! Get ready to leap down the hall when no one is looking!

Idol Infatuation

I am obsessed! I freaking LOVE American Idol. I go through phases. When the first American Idol came on back in 2003, I was all about it. My mom told me I should watch, and I was hooked. Then I fell off the wagon for quite a while. I just didn't care. But lately I am BACK ON!!

The trick is to watch the auditions. If you watch the auditions and Hollywood week, you're hooked! They've got you! You can't escape! That happened to me last season and definitely this season. Tuesday nights are the best nights of the week.

Last season, I was glued to the TV. Last season was awesome. I literally cried through the entire finale because I was just so happy for the contestants that they were living their dreams! The "Idol Gives Back" show was one of the best shows. Getting to watch the contestants sing duets with their singing idols... are you kidding me??? They got me!!

Brent is totally hooked, too. He might tell you he's not, but he is. We have rules for watching American Idol:
1. No judgements until 3/4 of the way through the song
2. Claim it! You have to claim your judgement loud and proud before the judges comment.
3. If you concur with the judges, you win. If not, you lose. Until the next performer! This can cause some pretty intense disagreements if one of us is right and the other is not. (I'm sure you can guess who is right most of the time.) We are getting kind of good. (That might be a sad comment on our life.)

Here are my current faves:

Lil Rounds: Her name is hurtin' - no doubt. Lil Rounds? But she blew me away tonight. Amazing voice.

Scott MacIntyre: He's blind. He's sweet. He's a good singer. I mean... come on!!!! I LOVE this guy. Did his story get me? Yes. Doesn't he deserve a little something????

Mishavonna Henson: She didn't make it through. But I'm holding out for the Wild Card round. I really like her personality.
Allison Iraheta: This girl is not my usual cup of tea. She is a bit punky for my taste. She is also quite awkward in conversation. HOWEVER - the girl can sing. If you heard her singing "Alone", you know what I mean!

Danny Gokey: Again, did they get me with the story? Yes. His wife just died and he is living his only remaining dream. And, he is a good singer. You can't deny the guy his dream, right??? This is Brent's fave.

Matt Giraud: This is my boy. He was one of my absolute favorites to start. When he sang "Georgia" at his piano in Hollywood - I got chills. Like David Archuleta "Imagine" chills. He did not make it through (sad), but I know he'll be in the wild card round.

Anoop Desai: The dude is just flat out likeable. He is so cute! Again, he did not make it through, but I hope he makes it in the wild card round. I think people love him and he just barely missed the cut.

In short... you should watch. Fox has found the magic formula, apparently, to keep a show going for so long, yet make it so good week after week. I heart American Idol!!!

I Mean, Really??

If you're free on Thursdays at 7pm (and who isn't?!), I've got a show for you. It is so ridiculous that I can't believe no one I know has blogged about it yet! You can watch the commercials and be satisfied, but the show itself is really a treat. I'm not sure what our culture is coming to, but I do enjoy a good laugh at someone else's expense. And you're lying if you say you don't.

The show is called "Hole in the Wall" on Fox. It is a game show that originated in Japan, so you know it will involve painful injuries, people falling down, and water pits. It does not disappoint. There are no voice-overs like those other Japanese shows we know and love, but the real people are so funny, there's no need for translation. Basically, there is this giant foam wall with cutouts in crazy shapes. The players stand on the edge of a pool and watch the wall come towards them. They have to shape their bodies to match the hole in the wall. If they shape themselves correctly, the wall goes right through them. If they don't, they shatter the wall and fall in the water. I mean who doesn't like to watch people falling down? The clip below is my personal favorite. On YouTube it is entitled "Oh Crap Woman". You may have seen it since it's had well over 100,000 hits. Classic. I laugh every time. Enjoy.

So I Think I Can Dance

That’s right. I do. And it’s all because of one reality TV show. I’ve never taken a dance class in my life! But there is something inspiring about So You Think You Can Dance. The dancing on this show is beautiful and joyful. If I could do my life over, I would try to be a really good dancer. I honestly think that being a dancer would be so fun. I’m obsessed with movies like “Centerstage” and I have (way more than once) imagined myself attending Julliard and then performing in the NYC ballet or on Broadway.

That’s why I love So You Think You Can Dance. They make it look so easy like anyone can do it. After I watch an episode of SYTYCD, I’m just about ready to look up a dance studio on the internet and give it a try! I’m not gonna lie: when no one is looking, I do a leap or two down the hallway just to see how it feels. Or, I’ll do some elaborate hand/arm movement in an attempt to mimic one of their “contemporary” pieces. I never do it in front of a mirror, so it always looks really good in my head. This has been a problem of mine for a while. As a kid, I desperately wanted to be an Olympic gymnast. Ha! I would sit and stretch in front of the TV while I watched the Olympics. Like that would help me. Am I crazy or do other people have these delusions as well?

If you don’t watch the show, I can’t help you except to say go to fox.com/dance and catch up, people! You can start watching tonight at 7:00. But if you do watch the show, here are my favorite dances of the season, and I hope you agree:

Will & Katee: Contemporary piece to "I’ll Never See Me Again" using the doorway as a prop
Joshua & Katee: Contemporary piece to "Hometown Glory"
Joshua & Katee: Contemporary piece to "All By Myself"
Joshua & Chelsea: Disco piece to "Everlasting Love" (SO FUN!!!)
Mark & Courtney: Contemporary piece to "The Garden" (the French burlesque)
Will & Jessica: Contemporary piece to "Silence" (the Garden of Eden piece)
Mark & Chelsea: Hip Hop piece to "Bleeding Love" (WOW!)
Summary: I love Joshua & Katee. I love contemporary.

Look these dances up on YouTube. You will not be disappointed.

I’ll leave you with one of my favorite SYTYCD dances of all time. This was Hok and Jamie in season 3. It’s called “The Hummingbird and the Flower.” If it’s not art, I don’t know what is. Enjoy! (I could do this dance, right?)