Trash TV

Are there some TV programs that you’re ashamed to admit you watch? I’m sure everyone has something that they view in secret, be it a soap opera, an inane sitcom, or NASCAR races.

I was doing some tidying up on my Tivo the other day and I was a little surprised at some of the fluff that comprises my TV viewing pleasure. Here’s a rundown of the worst:

Monsterquest – Each episode finds a group of extremely serious crypto-zoologists (i.e. “Bigfoot-nerds”) discovering the latest sensational evidence for Bigfoot, the Chupacabra, the Loch Ness monster, and the ever-elusive Giant Infuriated Weasel. The viewer (me) is mercilessly strung along for an hour with tidbits of “possible concrete evidence” that these things really exist. At the very end of the program, the iron-clad, scientific evidence is deemed “inconclusive” by scientists.

Dang.

I fall for it every time.

18 Kids and Counting – Have you heard of the Duggar Family in Arkansas? They’re the squeaky-clean, super-religious, saccharin-sweet family who have 18 children, often with one more on the way. In each 30-minute episode, we get to watch them accomplish breathtaking activities like installing new mini-blinds, going to the dentist, or making tater-tot casserole.

I’ll admit that the kids really do seem well-adjusted and genuinely altruistic; a rarity in this day and age. I’m also sure that the viewers are never exposed to the many melt-downs, the shrieking, and the general stench of that many kids under one roof.

The Duggars have been on TV for three or four years. Now that the kids are getting older and there are a number of teenage boys in the house, I can’t help but to wonder how much time Mama Duggar spends trying to track down that elusive JC Penney catalog.

I’ll be anxious to see how they’re all doing in 15 or 20 years from now. I wonder if Mama and Daddy Duggar will continue the program once a little Bristol Palin action arises. With 18 kids, there’s bound to be a little “reality” set in eventually.

Judge Judy – The first thing I do when I get home from work is to watch two daily episodes of my Judy. Yes, there’s a lot to be said for watching stupid people being held accountable.

The Newlywed Game – I enjoyed this game show back in 1967 and I still love it. Although Bob Eubanks no longer hosts it, it remains absolutely the same. Hubby gives a clueless answer about how they “make whoopee” and his wife whomps him over the head with her answer-card. What’s not to like?

That’s just some of the junk TV that I regularly watch.

Okay, I told you mine, now tell me yours. I really want to know. My Tivo needs new stuff to record anyway.