Some REAL Foolishness

I think I can now safely say that I am a reality TV junkie. Before, I allowed myself access to a few reality shows here and there, feeling justified because the shows were wildly popular among the Nielsen ratings folks. “Amazing Race” was and is my all-time favorite program, and I recently gave up on “ANTM” and “American Idol”. But now those latter two shows have been replaced with a smorgasbord of foolishness. (confession: I did allow myself “Flavor of Love” - both seasons and “I Love New York” – both seasons). My DVR is working overtime to keep up with my bad habit, for which I am thankful. I do know that there are some people that are worse, but considering where I was not even a few months ago, I feel much shame! For my own entertainment and perhaps enlightenment, I feel compelled to detail what is so cracktastic about all of my shows.

First of all, I must say that VH-1 is the devil incarnate. There is something about their shows that suck me in. I’m all up in their shows; I think I watch more shows on VH-1 than on any other channel. And here’s why:

“Tough Love” and “Tough Love: Couples”: So I totally love Steve Ward! The dude is no-holds barred. The first two “Tough Love” seasons were pretty good, but once he started focusing on the couples, I got seriously hooked. Some of the issues that the couples are dealing with – trust issues, lack of sex life, poor communication – are real-life problems and some of the advice that Steve gives is helpful. But, mostly, the show is great entertainment. I find myself sitting there wondering who is gonna make it and who is gonna call it quits. We don’t find out until the end of the season. I also like that, in spite of them living in a mansion together and having weekly “challenges”, no one is eliminated or voted off. They’re there to complete the boot camp. And I’m totally tuning in every week!

“Brandy & Ray J: A Family Business”: Truly I do not understand why I’m so into this show. I guess, having a brother of my own, the relationship between the two siblings is interesting…even if I’m not a Grammy-winning R&B star and my brother hasn’t had two dating reality shows. I am quietly cheering on Brandy’s comeback, which must begin with her abandoning her current hair-affair and finding something that does not involve babyhair and lacefronts.

“What Chilli Wants”: Have mercy, I thought I was picky! Watching Chilli try to find a man with this mess of a matchmaker is both compelling and painful. I want to shake her at times to tell her that she’s out of her mind, but then I feel badly for her at times (see this past week’s episode with Floyd in Vegas). I dunno, I hope she finds what she wants.

“Basketball Wives”: I watch this purely for the trainwreckiness of it. I’ve dubbed Evelyn and Jennifer “Evilene” and “Evermean”, one because they are and two, because references to “The Wiz” are fun. At any rate, the amount of delusional thinking, self-aggrandizing and overall snobbiness in this show makes it impossible to turn off – at least for me, anyway. I enjoy watching them just to talk about them on Twitter or read about them on message boards. Wealth does a lady not make. I hope by watching themselves on tv, they'll gain some insight. (#unlikely)

Right behind VH-1 come WE and TLC (it’s a tie) for all of their wedding shows. And I mean, ALL of their wedding shows. Sure, wedding planning is on my mind, but I’m not engaged. (lol) Still, I cannot turn away and cannot stop my DVR from taping all of the wonderfulness!

“My Fair Wedding by David Tutera”: by far my favorite wedding show. I just want to kidnap David Tutera and make him plan my wedding, when the time comes. I love how he comes in and completely kills the wedding design, because you know his designs are gonna much more faaabulous and much more expensive. I could never afford to hire the guy (weddings in his design collection at Disney World start at $60,000…don’t ask how I know that)…so whenever I am engaged, he needs to watch his back! Lol

“Say Yes to the Dress”: Who spends $11,000 on a wedding gown? Clearly, this happens, and Kleinfeld’s in NYC is the place to go to do it. I just shake my head at the amount of money these women spend on their gowns, but enjoy the drama that goes down in the shop. Plus the new season just started, so let the fun begin!

“Bridezillas”: Usually pisses me off more than anything, makes me question how much of this is being played off for the camera because 1) I refuse to believe that these women will act THIS crazy and 2) I cannot understand how the grooms go through with the ceremony after all of the bipolar manic hijinks that these brides get into. Foolishness.

“Four Weddings”: Just got into this one last week. Basically, four brides who already have planned their weddings attend each other’s ceremonies and rate the overall experience, including her dress, food and venue. The winner wins a fabulous honeymoon. It’s just interesting to see how different the brides’ visions are, what works and what doesn’t. Plus it’s super entertaining! I’ll be sticking with this one.

“Platinum Weddings”: Excess to the extreme. I’ve seen some fabulous ceremonies – the one in Mexico in the cave stands out, but seriously, spending $500,000+ on a wedding is just stupid. I can only watch this in doses.

“Rich Bride, Poor Bride”: This one is cool cuz it deals with the actual cost of weddings, what can drive people over budget, and even exposes some of the Groomzillas that exist out there. Lol. Fun times.

Not that I need approval or validation from others, but am I the only one addicted to this craziness??