To read the tribute to SFC Marcus Muralles, please click here
Monday, April 07, 2008
I Blame The British
OK, so maybe they can't take all the blame for the modern day plague known as reality television, but they definitely have the lion's share.
Reality tv actually began with Candid Camera, so America started it. And we were also responsible for COPS (well, the writer's strike of 1988 is to blame, but... you know what I mean). We would have probably been perfectly happy making fun of stupid people and criminals (but I repeat myself), but the Brits couldn't leave well enough alone.
They gave us What Not To Wear... and Big Brother... and SuperNanny... don't forget Gordon Ramsey is all his glory... Pop Idol and Britain's Got Talent (precursors of American Idol and America's Got Talent)... Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?... Changing Rooms (their version of Trading Spaces)... Strictly Come Dancing (Dancing with the Stars)...
But you can't blame them for Survivor (Sweden) or Big Brother (The Netherlands).
And let us not forget the newest version of "reality tv"- the "documentary"- The Osbornes, The Real Wives of Orange County, The Surreal Life, Miami Ink, Deadliest Catch... the "real" lives 99.999% of the world never wants to live.
Why do I even bring this up? Those shows are dumbing down our planet, killing of brain cells faster than the local pubs.
And people wonder why I only watch a few channels on television (Food Network, SciFi, FoxNews, the sports channels) ... some days, I'm almost ready to chunk the tv all together. No, I'm not there yet... but some days...
Reality tv actually began with Candid Camera, so America started it. And we were also responsible for COPS (well, the writer's strike of 1988 is to blame, but... you know what I mean). We would have probably been perfectly happy making fun of stupid people and criminals (but I repeat myself), but the Brits couldn't leave well enough alone.
They gave us What Not To Wear... and Big Brother... and SuperNanny... don't forget Gordon Ramsey is all his glory... Pop Idol and Britain's Got Talent (precursors of American Idol and America's Got Talent)... Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?... Changing Rooms (their version of Trading Spaces)... Strictly Come Dancing (Dancing with the Stars)...
But you can't blame them for Survivor (Sweden) or Big Brother (The Netherlands).
And let us not forget the newest version of "reality tv"- the "documentary"- The Osbornes, The Real Wives of Orange County, The Surreal Life, Miami Ink, Deadliest Catch... the "real" lives 99.999% of the world never wants to live.
Why do I even bring this up? Those shows are dumbing down our planet, killing of brain cells faster than the local pubs.
And people wonder why I only watch a few channels on television (Food Network, SciFi, FoxNews, the sports channels) ... some days, I'm almost ready to chunk the tv all together. No, I'm not there yet... but some days...
