InfoMania + the Hills = Good Times

Yes, I admit, I watch the Hills. In fact, I have watched it since the very first episode premiered. That's right, before it suddenly became the sort-of-cool-guilty-pleasure of today. And then before that, I watched Laguna Beach. So why do I watch these allegedly dreadful and mind-numbing shows? Because I love them, that's why. I don't know why I am so intrigued by the Hills- I wish I knew. But it goes back to my fascination with reality shows where the people aren't too obvious in that they are scripted. Lauren's facial expressions, I am sorry, are real- or at least they look real. That's all that really matters anyway, right? I love watching people and it's like the best opportunity to do so without looking like a stalker creep. I used to hate Lauren on Laguna Beach but now I love her- don't get me wrong, she can be a total dumb bitch a lot of the time, but still deep down she's a decent human being. And Heidi... holy crap that girl needs some serious help. She is just fun to watch for the entertainment factor. It's like watching a real train wreck right there before my eyes, it's lovely in an evil way. People complain about the awkward silences but I looove them - and I can't really explain why. They were a staple of Laguna Beach as well. Other good things? Lo and Whitney, the universally loved people on the show. Getting to see how uptight and bitchy the fashion business is. At least they don't pretend it's any different. And then the gorgeous cinematography. Now, I know nothing about the technicalities, but the show is pleasant for my eyes so that's all I count on.

Here's the awesome Conor Knighton of InfoMania on Current TV, commenting on the new Hills episode. I love this guy.

90's Kid

Oh my God, I need the orange Nickelodeon sweater that Chris Brown is wearing here:



... or at least one without that big black splat in the middle, but basically one like this. The picture is from the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards (don't even ask why I'm looking at the pictures... they were on ONTD, ok!) and I just realized I needed a Nickelodeon sweater, and then I searched all over the internet- ebay, Nickelodeon store, etc.- and I've got nothing. It's like it doesn't exist. All I see is Spongebob sweaters, which was also a mighty fine show but, c'mon, all the clothes for that have been overkill and it's time to bury them for a while. Maybe I'll make my own Nick sweater (...ignoring the fact I've never screen printed before) or I'll got to the Nickelodeon store next time I go to Universal Studios. We'll see. But I'm definitely getting me one of those one way or another- I must wear my childhood loud and proud.

What would be even better is if I found an "Aah Real Monsters" sweater



or a "Rugrats" one.



Or even "As Told by Ginger"...



or "Doug"...



or "Hey Arnold!" (not exactly the intro haha)



so many good cartoons back then. Now all they have is, um, Hannah Montana. Although I've never watched that show and I never bother to watch any kids channels these days so I guess I'm not one to talk then...

More Like Douche World...

Here's the new trailer for the Real World: Hollywood-



Why must MTV insist on only casting douche bags on the Real World? This show has so much potential and they kill it every single time... it's quite frustrating, really. Okay, have one brainless, steroid-abusing guy in the house. Fine. But why do all of the guys have to be that way? One is seriously not enough? What about the geek, or the artistic sensitive guy, or the funny guy? At least those clichés are less irritating, and (for me at least) much more interesting.

MTV- You lose at life. Get yourself together already. It's tragic to watch your slow and painful demise.

"Reality" Shows

There is the typical bad reality show, and then there is the good one. There's a very thin line between them and it's oh so easy to cross over to the bad side. It can even happen in the middle of a season. I don't know exactly what make a good reality show... or at least what makes it good in my eyes.

I think that, for me, the show has to be at least somewhat genuine to catch my fascination. I know they're all staged to some extent, but I need some real human emotions and interactions. If there's real-ness, I can watch a whole conversation on TV with undivided interest. Maybe it's because of my weird habit of analyzing people, I don't know.



This is probably the reason why I lost interest in the MTV show "The Life of Ryan," about the famous skater boy Ryan Sheckler. I first watched the show simply to give it a chance- I was probably bored at the time. I also had very low expectations because the whole concept was already unpromising. But I ended up loving the show with all my heart. Ignoring the cheesy voice-over/narration by Ryan himself and the even more cheesy and frequent video "flash backs" to Ryan's happy childhood, the show turned out to have a heart and it pulled me in. At first look I thought Ryan was another cocky teenager whose early success inevitably went to his head, but he actually surprised me. What broke my wall of cynicism was the way he treated his two brothers- one a couple years younger and very quiet, the other just a little kid (with huge, adorable eyes). When the youngest brother (I think his name is Kane) fell while "scootering" and started crying, Ryan ran to him to help him out, saying, "Come on buddy, you're okay." Then in another episode Kane cried because Ryan was so busy with his friends and traveling that he didn't hang out with him as much anymore and Ryan felt really bad and took him out somewhere. Then the older, quiet brother- this is weird but there was just something so real about him- you don't get a lot of quiet people on TV because they're not "entertainment." Plus the whole deal with Ryan having to deal with his parents' divorce and being stuck in the middle, and his dad dating a gross blonde bimbo who yells at him "I love you!" out of nowhere while he leaves their house, which understandably causes him to freak out and go back to his mom in horror and confusion.

Anyway, all of the interactions and conversations on the show, at least on the part of Ryan's family, were surprisingly genuine and they transcended the cheesy structure of the show.

Yet, there was a turning point. The show apparently became very successful, although while it was on I felt like I was pretty much the only one watching it. Then the new season recently started, with more MTV attention as they have very few successes these days... and something changed. The first two episodes were alright, a bit worrisome but still the story sucked me in. But by the third, I think it became undeniable. The producers structured and manipulated the content so much that it lost all substance, all that made it what it was. I don't care if they want to tell Ryan and his manager to meet at a restaurant and talk- but please don't make it so obvious. Like, to the point that it become absolutely undeniable that producers are constantly feeding every talking point to each person. That ruins everything. And that's what I felt was happening... Also, they kept pushing a non-existent story line. Fine, it was somewhat there- something about Ryan feeling lost with all of the new business negotiations. But there was something disturbingly contrived about how many times he mentioned it to every person. It's like, "enough, we got it the first time. We're not retards, MTV, we swear." So nearly all the magic of the show was lost, and I sadly stopped watching that episode half-way through. I might give it another try, but I'm not too optimistic.

With success comes the downfall, I guess... MTV sure knows how to kill a good thing and keep alive all the bad things, eh?

Well, at least I currently have: Project Runway, the Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency, and Make Me a Supermodel. Ooh and Top Chef soon... and then there's that new Bravo dance show that looks very promising. The good thing about reality shows is that they come in droves.