We watch TV. If I didn't have kids I'd probably watch more. Well, let me rephrase that: if I lived alone and didn't have to endure the humiliation of having small children witness my viewing habits I would probably watch more. But it's hard to watch Coronation Street with two six year olds who cackle with laughter when someone mentioned the word "knickers" or "ponce." Ditto my HBO obsessions. There I am, minding my own business, or, rather, minding Julius Caesar's business as he's toying with his latest conquest in Rome, when my six year old daughter, who up til then has been silently swinging around on the stair-rail, suddenly pipes up at a most critical juncture with a "What's he doing THAT for?" Heaven forbid she should ever see Atia doing what Atia does best.
But I capitulate for my eldest, who enjoys shows like The Amazing Race, Lost (even though it is getting increasingly bizarre), Survivor, and Dr Who. Someone has to watch those shows with him, right? Anyhow, tonight my patience was tested when, as I was checking the on-line TV guide to see if Lost was on (Max had the idea that it was on tonight), I noted several other titles. Honestly, either I'm getting old and crotchety, or I'm getting older and crotchetier, but listen to these:
Snoop Dog's Father Hood
Kimora: Life in the Fab Lane
Cashmere Mafia
Wife Swap
Now, I've never actually watched these shows, so perhaps I am being overly judgmental, but just the thought of Snoop Dog dispensing his pearls of wit and wisdom on what makes a man a man makes me wince. I feel quite irritable knowing that Snoop is on prime time at this very minute and getting paid for it. As for our Life in the Fab Lane friend, well, she caused me to cancel my subscription to Vanity Fair. Say what you will, but Vanity Fair used to be an interesting read once upon a time; now it's all ads and cringe-making pandering to mostly spoiled celebrities. I still enjoy reading Christopher Hitchens because we're both old and crotchety, but when they started doing articles on people like Kimora Lee Simmons and Paris Hilton I had to either cancel my subscription or increase my Mock the Rich levels, but since those are high enough already, I canceled the subscription. And now I see that Ms Simmons has a TV show. Ugh.
6 comments:
We don't watch TV shows (our TV is only connected to a DVD player and a PS2) and I haven't even heard of the shows/people you're talking about! Sounds like I'm not missing anything!!
Oh, except I have heard of Dr Who, but haven't watched it for probably 20 years, with a completely different actor playing the part of Dr Who. Does the current Dr still battle the Daleks?
I love my TV and my Zip subscription :). And since Sept. we can get DVDs and CDs via ILL again, yahoo. We have only two channels, both of which show lots of stuff we don't watch, so the DVDs are lovely.
All of us here like the Amazing Race but this season it was on at 9 pm which is too late for my bunch. I was happy with this season, where most of the teams seem to behave pretty well. My kids also like Rick Mercer and This Hour Has 22 Minutes. It's amazing how often they amaze other adults by being able to recognize and speak about Stéphane Dion, Peter McKay, etc. And they watch Corner Gas with my husband; I find that a little CG goes a long way, much like Seinfeld, another show about...nothing (!).
We just got "Prehistoric Park" from the library which the kids are enjoying, and I took to bed last night with a migraine "Manor House", which I've found one of the better "House" efforts.
Happy viewing :)
Forgot to add that I'm another VF reader. I don't subscribe, but pick it up a few times a year at the checkout stand, when I have a Loblaws coupon for 15% off my entire purchase (which usually works out to a free mag).
It's rather like Playboy, isn't it, in that you get to say, "But I read it for the articles"...
Hey Nicola!
Yes, the Doctors are still battling the Daleks, some more, err, sexily than others, I have to confess.
And no, you are not missing much at all in TV Land. Imagine having a supermodel giving you child-rearing advice: this is how I view some of these people.
Just think: I could be knitting instead of being the comic relief on the knitting conference...
Becky, I think we live in parallel universes sometimes. I say the same thing about VF to Richard all the time. It really IS like Playboy, isn't it. Thanks to VF I am conversant with names like Plum Sykes (then again, that might be my on-line Hello! obsession).
I do like Christopher Hitchens and Dominick Dunne, though. They are such amusingly opinionated old men and I like amusingly opinionated old men.
Max is a huge Rick Mercer fan and we ran into Stephane Dion at a parade during the spring. Max shook his hand and said "Did you REALLY name your dog Kyoto? And did you REALLY go sledding with Rick Mercer?" Then I came along and said almost the same thing. Poor old Stephane. I think he was quite taken aback by the RM worship going on...
I've also seen a listing for a show called something like Scott Baio is 45 and Single. Um, who cares? And why do people want to watch this.
Another listing I've seen is for what I'm guessing is a plastic surgery show called Plastic Makes Perfect. Barf!!
I see a lot of weird listings that make me shake my head when I am checking for hockey start times (the only thing that my boys must watch).
Post a Comment