*attempt at creative and witty title*

I have changed my mind. The hardest part is not thinking of something to post about, but rather, thinking of a good opening paragraph to my topic. Obviously I failed that task because I took the easy way out by explaining that I suck.

Now that I have surpassed the awkward stage of the opening paragraph, I suppose I could mention what this is all about. Last night I was discussing tv with Damacus and the idea of reality tv came up. This sparked in my mind the usual rampage of hatred for the pure stupidity of the Australian public when it comes to entertainment, and how the standard of tv is dropping rapidly to the point where I, who was once a frequent tv watcher, has turned to other boredom busters such as blogging.

You might think, "hey, if the standard of television is dropping and people like Renji are moving away from the couch, how is that a bad thing?" Well all I have to say is that, without sounding too cocky, I am a relatively intelligent person. This isn't because I scored fairly well in my VCE, or because I love sodoku, but because I am naturally repulsed by so much of the mind-draining crap with which I am so often presented. Just because someone like me will reject the brainless garbage that is ruining actors' careers everywhere, that doesn't mean that the rest of the country is smart enough to do the same; if they were then these shows wouldn't be on.

I am embarrassed for Australia because on commercial tv alone, we have 2 shows dedicated to finding smugglers at the airport, and another few dedicated to PROBLEMS at the airport. What is so interesting about the repetetive yelling at the unfortunate airline employee. Every single week the ads are the same, promoting a hugely dramatic scene in which a customer overreacts about some unavoidable mistake, which begs the question: do these angry idiots agree to have their faces on television? It blows my mind that these shows rate so well when they are just repetitive nonsense with barely tolerable basic ideas. I actually saw an ad for a show called "Embarrassing Illness". I don't even want to know what kind of awful crap that they present for half an hour. In fact as I am typing there is an exaggerated ad for "Border Security" which asks us to guess where the 'mysterious package' was hidden. It was in a condom... so it was either swallowed or shoved up their arse. Do I win a prize? My prize is not being sucked into watching the whole episode waiting for them to tell me where the condom of doom is hidden.

There are, of course, exceptions to the rule, which is what makes it a rule. Some reality tv shows involve talent, such as Australian Idol. I personally don't watch it because I find it boring and the judges just piss me off, but if somebody wants to watch it because they like to hear new talent then it is better than watching "RSPCA Animal Rescue". The same goes for "So You Think You Can Dance", but I enjoy that show. I won't go out of my way to watch it, but if it is on, I don't mind watching talented individuals trying to make it; plus I like dancing. It can depend on your interests, but I must add that Australian Idol is passed its day. If you like watching new talent, I'm sure that after so many years the teat of singing talent in the country has been sucked dry and the future winners will continue to do less and less in their dream job.

Speaking of being passed their day, many originally good reality shows have been redone too many times. Before the insane reality boom when real shows ruled the screen, there were a few interesting ideas that had popped up. Names that come to mind are "Big Brother", "Survivor", and "The Amazing Race". These shows were the pioneers of reality tv and were, in the beginning, worth watching, but after so many years, the ideas are getting old (thank god that "Big Brother" was cancelled). Even those who once enjoyed these shows must be getting tired of repeat events and old characters being brought back into the series; give up already.

Another annoying idea is this new form of cooking show. "My Restaurant Rules" aired years ago and was rightfully cancelled for being useless and crap, but recently with the success of "Masterchef", a new love for hopeful housewives and the token gay couple trying to produce top quality meals has blossomed. Rewarding one of these people with their own restaurant is an insult to those going out for a meal. I'm sure the quality of their food is fine, but why would anyone attempt to obtain the qualifications of a chef if they see that any fat mum who coooks dinner can be noticed and get work in the field. The show has no use to our lives, sure we get to see some delicious looking meal, but they don't tell us how to make it. Give me a recipe and I might choose to watch the show more to get more ideas for dinner.

My hatred for reality tv in general is broken only by a few good ideas and some talented people, but I will continue to judge anyone who chooses to watch "Border Security" and is entertained by the exact same events in every single episode. If I have to see one more ad that says "you will never guess what we find in this traveller's bag" I might have to kill someone.

I would rather watch "Two and a Half Men", a show which bores me to the core with the predictable and reused jokes, than watch "Airline". At least it is keeping some actors in a job. How can they do what they love if any real programming is replaced with useless, badly filmed reality tv. Watch some real television with a script that involves many talented people like actors, directors, writers, and a camera man who does more than hold the same Panasonic brand hand held camcorder that I can buy for a few hunred dollars down at Dick Smith; or at least watch a sports program... we all like sports.

I think that might be enough rambling for today. Thanks for reading and for the love of god, will you watch some quality television that doesn't kill your brain cells.
-Renji