A Boy and His Television

My love affair with television is well documented.  I enjoy almost all forms of television....Drama, Comedy, SciFi, Sports, Classic Movies, etc.  I'm an equal opportunity viewer.  I visit tvguide.com and ew.com almost daily for info on the shows I watch and new shows I might start watching.  When the new fall shows start in late August, I'm going to agonize over what shows to watch, what shows to DVR, and what shows to ignore altogether.  I make my own Excel Spreadsheet schedule, color coded for shows I watch, shows Rachel watches, and shows we watch together.  It's unhealthy in so many ways.  However, one genre has not tempted me at all.

Reality TV. 

Reality TV is like a drug.  Everyone experiments in college.  For me, it was no different.  I tried a little Temptation Island, but the high wore off on that one fast.  I watched Real World, but really it was just for the social interaction with a group of girls I knew that watched it.  I was like the kid in Can't Hardly Wait.  I watched just to try to fit in.  And, much like that kid, I never got very far with the ladies.  I watched American Idol for a few seasons for the same reasons...our neighbors watched, so tried to talk myself into it.  Once the neighbors moved on, so did my interest in Idol.

Then, Dancing with the Stars happened.

DWTS sucked me in fast.  I joined Twitter to see what Ochocinco would say about it.  I analyzed every single thing Erin Andrews did/said to see if she was still worthy of being a part of my list.  Plus, it was something my wife enjoyed.  Anything I can watch with her is great.  We laughed at Buzz Aldrin and his "space brain" antics.  We enjoyed Kate Gosselin's over the top meltdowns.  And, surprisingly, I even enjoyed watching the dancing. 

Last night, however, DWTS became a gateway drug for me.  DWTS is my marijuana.  As last night's episode wound down, they kept hyping up The Bachelorette.  And I started talking myself into it.  Rachel and I decided to watch the first few minutes.  Just a taste.  But we were hooked by The Mountain Man.  I wanted to see if the bachelors with dead relatives used that to their advantage on the first date.  I laughed at the irony of Ali saying she's on the show for love only months after leaving The Bachelor for a career.  We ended up watching the whole two hours.  I actually put off watching the series finale of 24 to watch The Bachelorette, not watching 24 until 11pm last night. 

The drug parallels are scary.  I staggered into bed at 1am.  I woke up late and barely made it work on time.  My eyes are bloodshot, and I feel like I could pass out at any second.  I actually checked The Bachelorette website to see what others were saying about the show.  I'm losing a grip on who I am to Reality TV. 

If I start watching that True Beauty show, someone please call A&E and get me on Intervention.