Reality TV....the race to the bottom

Did you ever stop and think about the themes that come and go in TVland?  When I was a kid it was westerns.  Gunsmoke, Have Gun Will Travel, The Rifleman, Rawhide, etc, and on Saturday mornings The Lone Ranger, Roy Rogers, and plenty more.

Then we drifted into comedies....The Beverly Hillbillies, Petticoat Junction, Mary Tyler Moore, All in the Family, Green Acres....

Later still we had the cops 'n robbers shows:  Kojak, Hawaii Five-0, Starsky and Hutch, Baretta, Cagney and Lacey....

Today reality shows are all the rage.  I must admit, overall this is my least favorite TV genre to date.  I understand why the TV producers like them:  They're easy and cheap to produce, "talent" is everywhere, and there are no expensive sets to design....the grungier the better.

One of the few I do like is Duck Dynasty, about a family in Louisiana who's made million$ making duck calls, but still lives the redneck lifestyle.  I say it's about 80% "show" and 20% "reality", but K thinks they're the real deal.  

Consider this:  The family patriarch has a Masters degree in education, was a star college quarterback who had an offer to play in the NFL, and the "boys" are well educated, married to attractive "normal" women, and live the good life.  I think the beards are just their TV gimmick.

Here's the "old" Willie Robertson of pre-TV fame.

Here's the "new" TV Willie (R) with his father, brother, and uncle.  I think this show is one of the best marketing gimmicks ever.  Can you imagine how many duck calls they sell now?

Another current blow-out reality show is Doomsday Preppers.  It showcases people across the country who think "the end is near" and are stocking up on ammo and Ramen Noodles.  A few seem semi-sane:  They're worried about an economic collapse or maybe some sort of natural disaster such as an earthquake on the west coast.  OK, fair enough.

Most, however, are worried about things like the world flipping upside down (yes, the north and south poles switching places).  Loonies!

The aluminum hat is obviously to protect his "brain" from mega-sunspot radiation.  No, really.

Here's how they think....they turn their home into a bunker, fill it with MRE's and barrels of water, buy a small arsenal of weapons, and then have a "bug out bag" (a backpack) so they can strike out cross-country when it all hits the fan.  And leave all that stuff they've been hoarding?  DUH!

And of course there's Here Comes Honey Boo-Boo, the little girl with "star power" and her stage mom.  I've only seen this one once.  It was so gross I couldn't take any more.  On the one hand I feel sorry for them because the whole world is laughing AT them.  But on the other hand they're getting rich, so I guess the last laugh is on THEM.

Other than that you have The Real Housewives of NJ / Atlanta /  Orange County / Frog Knot, The Race Around The World (or something like that), blah, blah.  Somebody please stop this madness!  

Does this say something about our nation's collective intelligence?  If so, I want to cash in, too.   How about this:  

A show about a retired guy who eats fried pork skins for breakfast....

....spends his days chasing his dog "Little Fucker" (as in "come here you little fucker!") around the house....and writes blog posts about how things were "back in the day?

Move over Boo-Boo.  *Cha-Ching!*

S