Death to Reality TV

I hate reality TV and society’s fascination with all these shows. It seems that these shows have taken over my digital cable box and I am sick of it. I guess I will date myself by saying I remember when the first season of survivor was on TV and I did watch it and I was annoyed with it after one season. I found that doing the same format over and over again was boring and very unoriginal. When it premered way back in the 90’s this format of show was new and sort of exciting but now after almost 20 seasons of the exact same format people still love this show and watch it/talk about it. WHY???????? This show has been doing the exact same thing for the better part of a decade, they dump people on some sort of tropical location and vote people off. What is the appeal after so many years? Does anyone remember who won the last seasons American Idol or Who was the Survior, or which B list celeb won DWTS? No, I will tell you why because today’s television viewer has the attention spam of a GNAT (irony noted). They watch every episode, talk about it then watch the 3 hour over hyped finale, turn off the TV and wait until the next American Idol premieres. People are obsessed with watching someone get there fifteen minutes but could care less about what they do after the show ends. Do people just watch these shows so they have something to gab about with there co-workers the next day?
It is not just my cable box that is ruined by this format it’s, facebook with people asking you to join a group that supports someone of American Idol. Twitter – with people sending our tweets with what is happening on DWTS (Dancing with the Star). It’s on the radio when I drive to work talking about who was still left on American Idol and what happened the following day. I cannot escape this bombardment of realily show filth it is everywhere I look and I cannot stand for it. I should really start a I hate American idol group of facebook and see how many people out there will join the cause.
American Idol is probably at the top of the reality show heap of cow shit. People watch the same thing year in and year out, which is making fun of people with no talent, finding someone that might be able to carry a tune, watching them butcher/destroy/shit on a classic Beatles track, get angry at Simon for making fun of there favorite singer, then again sitting through the over commercialize season finale which takes about 4 hours, then seeing the winner. After all of that by the end of the following week they wouldn’t be able to tell you who won, WHY? The person who won has fallen off the face of the earth (sorry I know that you have won this great prize but no one cares anymore you are now resorted to singing at the grand opening of some Zellers in middle America). I guess the winner puts out a CD a few months later but it won’t even make a blip on the billboard because nobody knows who you are anymore. Why does anyone even try out for this “show” anymore? The prize you win expires the minute after the show ends? Does anyone get it?
If you would like to enjoy some actual TV shows with Actors, Sets, Scripts, Writers, Directors. Please check out these great shows that I love to watch?
1. Rescue Me – Starring Dennis Leary. Its is about firefighters in New York – Season 5 just started but go buy/download/rent the first 4 seasons you will not be disappointed
2. Dextar – This show is about a nice, sweat, quite guy that is a forensic investigator who also happens to be a serial killer – Season 3 just finished but watch the first episode you will be hooked.
3. Nip Tuck - This show is about 2 plastic surgeons and there stranger cases – Season 5 just ended but check out the first 3 they're the best seasons.
To watch all the shows listed above you will have to have a pretty great cable package to get them but they’re all out on DVD so please if you are one of those reality show people do your self and your mind or favor and go pick up the DVD’s.
There are more shows on regular cable that are also great. The Office, How I Met your Mother, The Big Bang Theory, My Name is Earl, Family Guy, Two and Half Men, etc. I could go on.
Now, please I am begging you to try normal TV for a while. Please stop with the reality show love affair it has gone on long enough and your welcome.

Podcasts

I know that I this type of media has been out there for awhile but I have just recently found some great podcasts that I think everyone should check out. The best thing about all these podcast is they are commercial free and are unedited. I love that these guys can talked normal and say things that they could never say on any TV or radio station.
Kevin Smith the brillant and funny writer, director, actor of such great movies (Clerks, Clerks 2, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Zac and Mira make a porno etc.) has a great podcast that he likes to call smodcast. He has a profound love for Wayne Gretzky and it routinely comes up throughout his podcast which is hilarious because he gets so worked up that he does start to cry or at least sobs. If you enjoy Kevin Smith and his really twisted sense of humor you will love his weekly podcast. To get all his smodcast please visit http://www.viewaskew.com/
Another great podcast is anything from ESPN. There are a couple of shows from ESPN radio that make daily podcasts and the one I listen too is Dave Dameshek. If you like to here a funny opinion on everything sports from NBA to Golf he pretty much covers it all. Go to http://stations.espn.go.com/stations/710espn/show?showId=damshow
Now the number one podcast that I listen to daily is Adam Carolla. You may recognize the name but not a lot of people know anything about him. He was one of the guys on the Man Show, he also did a puppet show call Crank Yankers, he also does some voice over work for Family Guy etc. I should tell you a little back story on how I fell in love with his show. As I said before I was sick of local radio and I was trying to find a funny morning shows that could help me pass the time. I found a great streaming radio player (CBS radio player) they had hundreds of stations from all over the US. I found a great morning show that was syndicated all over the west coast called the Adam Carolla Show. It was really funny. He has great stories about growing up in a poor LA neighborhood and loves to tell you about his stonier friends. He also love to complain about pretty much everything that he sees and does. I know that that doesn't seem that funny but his opinion is very close to my own. After I have been listening to him for about a month his radio show got canceled because CBS (who owned the station) wanted to play more songs.
This really pissed me off because I found a show that I actually love to listen too. After his show got canceled Adam decided that he still had thousands of fans that want to hear him so he now makes a daily podcast. Adam does the podcast everyday from his house/garage in LA and gets some big names to appear on this hour long. He always gets his guest to tell some great stories that you would never hear anywhere else. For example Seth McFarlane (the creator and voice of many characters on Family Guy) and Adam where drinking when doing the podcast and Seth, who was kinds drunk, did the Stewie voice and what would happen is Stewie played and won the Superbowl. It was funny and you would not get that from any other formant. And now has or used too have the number 1 downloaded podcast on itunes. Visit his website at http://www.adamcarolla.com/
I urge you to download these podcast on itunes or listen to them streaming on there website. You will not regret it and I am sure that you will fall in love with one of them. I also believe that this formant will kill modern FM/AM radio. You heard it here first.