Smoke Rings and Coffee Stains

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

Trainwreck Television

Listening to an interview with Piers Morgan (one of the judges on the new NBC show America's Got Talent) on the radio today introduced me to the phrase "trainwreck television" -
Piers stated that Americans love "trainwreck TV". I think he's absolutely right. Until recently, I never would have put myself into the trainwreck television watcher category. Old standby pseudo-reality shows with boring formats like Survivor, Big Brother, Amazing Race, Real World and the like just never struck a chord with me. However, it seems if you put pseudo reality in the right format, my book-loving self gets hooked like everybody else. Thank goodness for TiVo or I'd never be able to watch the normal television I love plus these shows!

What trainwrecks am I currently watching? Talent trainwrecks. I have been hooked by American Idol since day one. Add in So You Think You Can Dance and America's Got Talent and my weekly dreck roster is complete. I am also watching Hells Kitchen, in spite of not liking it last season, because a friend of mine from my wasted youth is on it (Go Sara!). My favorite part of American Idol is, of course, the auditions phase. I'm actually only half enjoying the auditions phase of America's Got Talent (how many drag queens and bad jugglers can you stand, anyway?), though I loved the auditions for So You Think You Can Dance - the street dancers are consistently amazing to watch, even if they don't make it through.

What is it about watching people try, fail, try again, and perhaps succeed that has Americans hooked? Are we living vicariously through total strangers? Are we so busy we have to rely on others to fulfill our secret dreams and desires (to have talent, to have money, to have fame, to have)? Or is it so much less complicated - do we simply want to be entertained at any cost?

Weigh in people - I want to know what you all think (and also what trainwrecks you watch).

Now Listening: The Cure Disintegration

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Posted by Leslie :: 10:39 PM :: 6 Comments:

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