What is going on here?

[stephk]

Dont be dissing Deadliest Catch!

I love that show.

Those guys are crab fishermen in the most inhospitable place. A deadly job. Ive got a new respect for those who catch the crab I love to eat (when I can afford it).

I know what you mean. I don't complain at the cost of those yummy crabs anymore. They are worth every penny.

[stephk]

Okay, maybe I'm just getting too old to 'get it' or I'm not on the same wavelength as others but.....good grief! Like most of you, I pay for cable television. Lately I've been asking myself 'why?' There is nothing on the airwaves I want to watch so I sat down and looked into what's out there and I came up with the following.....

'Dirty Jobs' Gross and disgusting ways to make a living.

'Intervention' The saddest, most dysfunctional people I've ever seen.

'American Pickers' Basically, they're junk men.

'Pawn Stars' They run a pawn shop. (Truthfully, at first I thought it was 'Porn Stars'! That may be next.)

'Keeping up with the Kardashians' Really low class, foul mouthed women who seem to do nothing but argue and disrespect their mother.

'Deadliest Catch' They're fishermen.....okay, it's a hard job but is it entertainment?

'Ice Road Truckers' They drive trucks over icy roads.

'Kate Plus 8' A boring single mother with eight kids (kids are cute but hardly entertainment.)

'Gangland' A running commentary on various types of gangs and how most of them get killed.

'The Real Housewives of .......insert city name here' Really spiteful, foul mouthed, completely fake women who sit around and insult each other.

"Jersey Shore' Unattractive, fashion challenged, amoral young people who do nothing except curse, drink and sleep together.

'Hoaders; Buried Alive' People who keep every single thing they come in contact with, have 75 cats and live in filth so deep it requires a bulldozer to clean their house.

And that's not even close to all.....I read today that the Salahis (White House crashers) and this flight attendant who released the plane's emergency chute (he was arrested) are going to have their own shows too.

Who watches this stuff? I've never watched more than five minutes of any of the above and never will. Is it the economy? It's cheaper to hire those that aren't famous for anything? Or is it that Americans want this? And what about you that live in other countries? Is this happening everywhere?

I watch some of the reality shows like Deadliest Catch, Hoarders; Buried Alive, American Pickers (some junk really is valuable), and those with some educational value on occasion. I can't stand the Jersey Shore/The Real Housewives/Kate Plus 8 type shows though. I think we got stuck with a lot of reality shows after the strike of screenwriters a few years ago. It's cheaper to produce than scripted shows.

The hoarders issue is one that is needs to be addressed because a lot of people do suffer with this condition. I was a case manager for a while and had a client who was a horrendous hoarder. A lot of elderly people start hoarding as they get older. My grandmother would have been one of those buried alive without intervention.

[stephk]

Pawn Stars and American Pickers are very interesting shows in my opinion.

Okay, I've never seen the shows but I know what the premise of each show is. Why are the shows interesting and does the fact that these are real people influence how you feel about them?

I think the thing I like about American Pickers is the guys know the history of the junk they find. Each thing they show is a slice of the past. The show isn't just about the resale of the things they find.

[MorningGlory]

I watch some of the reality shows like Deadliest Catch, Hoarders; Buried Alive, American Pickers (some junk really is valuable), and those with some educational value on occasion. I can't stand the Jersey Shore/The Real Housewives/Kate Plus 8 type shows though. I think we got stuck with a lot of reality shows after the strike of screenwriters a few years ago. It's cheaper to produce than scripted shows.

The hoarders issue is one that is needs to be addressed because a lot of people do suffer with this condition. I was a case manager for a while and had a client who was a horrendous hoarder. A lot of elderly people start hoarding as they get older. My grandmother would have been one of those buried alive without intervention.

The 'Hoaders' thing is one that simply stumps me....I'll watch a few minutes and then turn it off and then go back again thinking 'what the heck?' and just shake my head. I can't understand what would compel ANYONE of any age to keep pizza boxes and empty soda cans to the point that they can no longer find their way through their homes. This must be a mental illness......

[MorningGlory]

Pawn Stars and American Pickers are very interesting shows in my opinion.

Okay, I've never seen the shows but I know what the premise of each show is. Why are the shows interesting and does the fact that these are real people influence how you feel about them?

I think the thing I like about American Pickers is the guys know the history of the junk they find. Each thing they show is a slice of the past. The show isn't just about the resale of the things they find.

Interesting......

[wyguy]

Have you guys seen "Hardcore Pawn" on TruTV? It's about a pawn shop in my hometown, Deeeetroit!

[stephk]

The 'Hoaders' thing is one that simply stumps me....I'll watch a few minutes and then turn it off and then go back again thinking 'what the heck?' and just shake my head. I can't understand what would compel ANYONE of any age to keep pizza boxes and empty soda cans to the point that they can no longer find their way through their homes. This must be a mental illness......

Hoarding like this is a mental illness. It's an extreme form of OCD and with some neurodegenerative disorders. My grandmother had Parkinson's and the hoarding started with the onset of the disease. There is no reasoning with these folks without medication and some real serious behavior modification.

[charliesbutterfly]

I so totally agree with the first post. I channel surf mindlessly sometimes trying make something interesting come out of what's there only get frustrated with how they set things up now. They show the same movies over and over in rotation snd some of them back to back, and those reality marathons are worst than the old show marathons. Some of the commercials are just downright stupid with immorality. Virgin Mobile advertises their phones with tha appearance of male strippers dancing in front of women. Don't mean to sound prud but when I saw that I thought "what has become of America". If I had an alternative in my little small town for the internet I would shut the thing off and save my money.

HERE'S TO A NEW HOLLYWOOD!! I'm praying for a change!

We SO need one! T.V. used to be called the Vast Wasteland.....now it's the Vast Waste Dump. Welcome to Worthy, Charles!

LOL. so true, it is definitely a dump. Thanks for the welcome.

[enoob57]

Have you guys seen "Hardcore Pawn" on TruTV? It's about a pawn shop in my hometown, Deeeetroit!

can any good thing come out of Detroit? Love Steven

[enoob57]

now you know why I have no TV.... but my dilemma came much earlier

Phil 4:8-98 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy