It's a sad state of affairs when quality, intelligent shows such as Alias, Birds of Prey, Dark Angel, 24, and Firefly stand a very good chance of not lasting to a 3rd year- with Alias and 24 being the only two shows in that aforementioned group to have a chance to accomplish that, and the rest having been cancelled- while 'reality shows' such as The Bachelor/ette, Survivor, Joe Millionaire, and Fear Factor all rake in the ratings and get renewal after renewal. This is absolutely sickening, and it just goes to show that entertainment is not so entertaining, after all. Hell, the History Channel is more amusing than any of that bullshit.
'Oh, but Gabs, it's just soooo romantic to sit on my couch, stuff my face, and watch two people who just met two weeks ago fall madly in love!' Uh, yeah, whatever. That is the biggest load of CRAP I have ever heard. Do you HONESTLY believe that two people who got thrown together amidst a group of 20-some odd other idiots are really going to be together forever? Please, tell me you realize that these people are just desperate, and they'll do anything to get on TV?
It is, quite frankly, appalling to see that intelligent shows are being pushed aside in favor of shit like Are You Hot? and it's idiotic brethren. Honestly, it is simply mind-numbing for me to consider the fact that no more than 20 million viewers have ever sat and watched a new episode of Alias, and yet shows like Joe Millionaire score easily twice that on any given night. And if you're a reality fan (read: possible moron), just take a minute, finish reading this, and shut your mouth before you start jumping all over me and accusing me of being just a bitter Alias fan, because that is NOT what I am.
I can count on one hand the number of truly intelligent shows on TV right now. By that, I mean good writing, talented actors, some creative vision, and no mentions of the words 'reality with a twist,' 'desert island,' 'x number of men and some chick who didn't win when she was going after the first bachelor,' or 'pigs testicles.' Well, those 4 criterion sure narrowed it down, didn't they? Let's see... we are left with Alias, 24, The Simpsons (yes, it's true, in a strangely convoluted way)... and shit, I can't seem to come up with anything else. I could be forgetting something... or maybe everything else just sucks. Of those shows, Alias is the only one I watch regularly. There are two other shows I watch often- Charmed and WWE- but neither of them can be accused of being brilliant. Don't get me wrong, fans of either- I like them both, obviously, as I wouldn't watch them if I didn't. Charmed is certainly creative, and it is LEAGUES above any reality show, but it's not always smart. As for WWE... well, let's just go ask Triple H and Stephanie about that, and then we can go to Vince McMahon and try to figure out why he lets his daughter and her boyfriend run the show, ok?
I feel I have more to say on this particular topic (a lot more) but since I'm fairly tired, and it can be difficult to create long rants when the whole point is how obviously stupid a certain category of TV shows are, I'm going to leave it for now. Don't be surprised if someday soon, you see 'Reality TV- Take 2' on the rants page.
Until then, this is Gabrielle Griffin-Hardy saying watch something intelligent, you might be surprised.