GoMBlue

July 30th, 2010 at 9:42 AM ^

I stayed up and watched last night, don't pretend you don't slow down just to watch the train wreck. Even worse is she thinks she is hot shit, but she looks like she fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down. All that makeup doesn't add a good 6 inches or take off 40 pounds. I know the camera adds 10 pounds, how many did she eat, five?

In reply to by GoMBlue

MGoDC

July 30th, 2010 at 10:03 AM ^

I didn't watch, nor have I watched any reality TV since Survivor season 1. Here's the formula to reality tv:

1. Get a cast of people that are willing to make fools of themselves and dont care about their reputation whatsoever.

2. Pay them to act like fools, get drunk, etc.

3. Every single person who watches the show watches it to feel superior "LULZ WHAT IDIOTS ON TEH TV!!" This happens in every show -- Real World, Jersey Shore, The Hills, etc.

4. The cast continues to act cocky "like they're hot shit even though they're ugly" meanwhile if you did any research you'd see EVERY regular Jersey Shore cast member was paid $10,000 per episode for Season 1 and is now making $30,000 per episode for Season 2.

5. Dumb shit audience continues to feel superior meanwhile since the cast members are paid $30,000 per episode to keep acting more and more moronic they are going to keep purposely doing stupid things "Chicken of the Sea...wait is this Chicken or Tuna Fish?" in order to attract media attention and continue making more money in one season than you'll make in a decade.

6. Dumb shit audience still hasnt realized that while they are laughing at the cast's "stupidity" that the cast is actually profiting greatly off of their collective audiences heads up their own asses.

7. Finally, in the year 2200, dumb shit audiences have killed themselves and their gene pool via methods worthy of the Darwin awards. Then we can go back to having quality programming on TV.

8. Get off my lawn.

/rant

03 Blue 07

July 30th, 2010 at 1:22 PM ^

Guys, I get the point of what you're saying, but "Jersey Shore" is a show I watch, and I also vote. I'm not going to self-fellate here, but I'll just say I don't think watching "Jersey Shore" and being an informed voter are mutually exclusive.

GVBlue86

July 30th, 2010 at 10:12 AM ^

For someone who doesn't watch reality TV, you sure know a lot about it. Just kidding ;).

Honestly I watch the Jersey Shore. You know why? It's entertaining to me. I don't look up to them or think it is "reality." I just think the characters are ridiculous and i'm a sucker for the drama. Even if it is fabricated most of the time. I treat it like any other show that has real actors.

I also freely admit it probably makes me lose a few IQ points each time I watch.

MGoDC

July 30th, 2010 at 10:29 AM ^

If you watch it merely for the fun of treating it like any other acted show, and it entertains you, then go for it. My problem is with people who honestly think that the people on these reality TV shows are unaware of how "clueless" they are. The "actors" on reality TV shows know full well what they are doing, and they are profiting greatly from an audience that largely looks down on the cast as idiots.

In any case, if you're looking for decent TV that won't knock your IQ down: 30 Rock, Chuck, ealy Entourage before Vince became insufferable, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, etc.

GVBlue86

July 30th, 2010 at 11:06 AM ^

Totally agree with you there. The absolute worst show that I definitley hated was the Hills. That was so blatantly fake and the demographic they targeted, young teen girls, ate it up and thought it was real. Plus, the "characters" on that show were really bad actors, making it even more unbearable.

 

Gotta add the first 3 or 4 seasons of the Office as well. Once Carell leaves after this season I will be very sad. Hey what about Americas version of "MXC"? Now that is great television.

03 Blue 07

July 30th, 2010 at 1:28 PM ^

Yeah, "The Hills" became, essentially, a scripted show. "Jersey Shore," though...I don't know. I think, at least in the beginning, these people were legitimately like this. You have to realize they'd lived their lives in very sheltered cultures. I can kind of understand it, as I grew up in a small town in Southern Illinois, and if you went down there and took, say, the 7 most riduculous people in Southern Illinois and put them on a show, they'd do and say stuff that most sane people would think had to be an act, but I can assure you it wouldn't be. They just don't know any better, or any other way of life.

The people on "Jersey Shore" are who they are: loud, obnoxious, and products of an environment that is very different than what we'd call "mainstream America" and they'd embraced their respective environments, as they likely either never wanted to "get out," learn about anything else, or tried and failed. Now, since they've gotten "famous," have they likely changed as they've seen more in the world, and are then trying to sort of play up to the image people have of them and who they were when they first started the show? I'd absolutely believe that. But I honestly think that when they came on the show, they were genuinely ridiculous people, and, in the case of The Situation and Snooki especially, had been attention-whores their entire lives. Hell, in the first season, you can see Snooki be all bummed out in the beginning because no one's paying attention to her.

MGoDC

July 30th, 2010 at 10:35 AM ^

Haha no I watched one season of The Real World early on (Las Vegas I think? Maybe not that early.) and decided that reality TV was garbage so I stopped watching. A few years later everybody was talking about how amazing Survivor was so I caught the last 3 episodes. It was okay but not really worth getting invested in Season 2.

OHbornUMfan

July 30th, 2010 at 11:30 AM ^

but I think some good counter-points are made in Everything Bad is Good for You.  Reality TV is often more participatory and thought-provoking for viewers than scripted programming.  Granted, much of this participation and thought happens on a fairly primordial intellectual level, but it could be argued that any participation on the part of viewers is better than vapid staring.

MAgoBLUE

July 30th, 2010 at 9:53 AM ^

Best part was Situation and Paulie D. driving down to Miami and Situation goes "you know what bro, I think if I follow this road the whole way it's gonna take us right to Miami, no joke".  Yeah it's called Interstate 95 guys

Plegerize

July 30th, 2010 at 10:10 AM ^

I was once forced to watch two hours of this show. I do not know what happened to those two hours as they are lost in a time-void. Could anyone help me get them back?

Louie C

July 30th, 2010 at 10:19 AM ^

Like the next man, I wouldn't bat an eye if she was smacked by the Rapid while crossing Division, but I think calling her fat is juuuust a bit of a stretch. What is this Ethiopia?

WichitanWolverine

July 30th, 2010 at 10:55 AM ^

I think people detest this show simply because these people are uneducated, untalented archetypes of American eastern seaboard trash...and they are getting rich off of it.

Admit it; we're all angry because we're jealous.

oriental andrew

July 30th, 2010 at 11:05 AM ^

And she's on a show called Jersey Shore which airs on MTV.  I stopped watching MTV in the early 90's when they quit doing actual music videos.  

Anyway, these are a bunch of guidos from Jersey who are basically well-known and pseudo-celebs for being outrageously idiotic and stereoptypical on camera.  Sadly, I found that they even rang the opening bell at the NYSE.  

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100727/us_nm/us_nyse_snooki

 

There is also some schmuck who calls himself "the situation" for some reason and is, apparently, a "gorilla juicehead".  

oriental andrew

July 30th, 2010 at 12:12 PM ^

 

I figured it was a reference to that other Starcraft II thread.  In fact, my time spent computer gaming had an inverse relationship with my grades.  As my gaming went down, my grades went up.  By senior year, I didn't go near a computer game.  

oriental andrew

July 30th, 2010 at 11:35 AM ^

I've heard references to the show, but never knew what it was.  I've heard of Snooki, but never knew who she was, either.  I'm still not too sure what the Kardashians did to become famous, and I don't really care to spend time looking it up.

I'd rather sit here doing my work while listening to Rodrigo y Gabriela.  =P