During Thanksgiving Break, college students like yours truly love to spend time relaxing and getting their minds off of their studies. For me, the relaxation has given way to boredom and many hours indulging in the wonderful world of television.
When your World Lit professor assigns the class to read "Don Quixote" over break, does she really expect anyone to do it? I'll just check the TV Guide to see if it comes on this weekend.
Let's face it: TV ain't what it used to be. The days of wholesome game shows have given way to Howie Mandel and Monday nights filled with NFL football have been replaced with countless hours of blabbering by ESPN's finest.
Over the past few days I've seen a lot of strange and really quite disturbing things on the tube.
Remember when TLC used to stand for "The Learning Channel?" Oh wait, it still does? Well then could someone inform me of what I could possibly learn from watching "Fashionably Late with Stacy London" on Friday nights? I think this show could be so bad it could quite possibly invent a new phenomenon known as "unlearning." Seriously, this garbage doesn't even belong on Lifetime.
Sure, some if not most of the shows aren't the traditional Bob Vila-esque type, but the network has lost its touch and has gone south.
And though most programs on TLC are a bit more off the wall than in the past, some are great. "Little People, Big World" is a throwback to the good ol' family on the farm hits of yesteryear and shows like "Flip That House" actually include learning. I could watch these all day (I will probably watch the L.P., B.W. marathon tomorrow).
But come on, this hype over an estrogen packed "stay-in-on-Friday-night" women's power-hour is more than enough, TLC. If I see another advertisement for it, I might "Flip That House."
2 comments:
So bitter... You just need to get in touch with your feminine side.
I haven't seen this Stacy London show, but I do have some thoughts. Why do you place so much value on house-improvement shows, but refuse to recognize relationship- and self-improvement as types of valuable learning too? TLC used to have a three shows that always played in succession: A Dating Story, A Wedding Story, and A Baby Story. These shows came with the "reality tv" revolution, and aired for years during the daytime hours, when many women were at home taking care of their children. These shows gave women the opportunity to learn about things they could relate to, presenting dating, marriage, and childbirth in an objective light. They were a huge hit and managed to actually show a bit of reality, without the drama of most current reality programs.
Also, Little People, Big World, while being a valuable show for learning, hardly portrays the "good ol' family" of the past. I am not making a criticism of the individuals, but pops' DUI was publicly aired for the nation. The father of this family is a far cry from Charles Ingalls (Little House on the Prairie). Still, Mr. Roloff is a human being, and Charles Ingalls was just a character, played by an actor. Perhaps this is simply a flaw of reality television in general.
First thing's first: Keep in mind I wrote that nearly two years ago.
I think what I was trying to get at was that lipstick color is not as important as financial decisions like investing in remodeling a house. Sure, they are both heavily reliant on cosmetic qualities, but there's much more to it than that.
Sure, I when I wrote that post, I was apparently watching "Little People Big World" with avengance, but in all honesty, that show has evolved from an attempt at family programming to an expose on how not to raise your children. Seriously, these kids have no discipline whatsoever. Taking a family on a multitude of vacations around the map is no way to reward poor grades and a total lack of respect for their parents.
And if memory serves correct, A Baby Story, Wedding Story, and A Dating Story still appear on the TLC weekday afternoon lineup (or so I hear...from other people...that are female).
I guess TLC knows what they're doing though. I can bash them all I want, but I still end up watching many of their shows.
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