Blogging · Me myself and I · Opinion · Thoughts

And still, we’re watching…

Cyranny

If you have cable tv, you know that pretty much any subject, project or hobby you could think of has been put in a tv show, somewhere on the planet.

Sometimes it amazes me that a producer said ”Yes! Hell yes!! We have something good here!” after being presented some of these ideas. I mean, how easy is it to entertain a human being? It seems like we are willing to watch pretty much anything at all. Sometimes, I even suspect that tv channels are just challenging our intelligence.

Here are five concepts I just don’t get. I don’t judge people who watch these shows, I am as guilty as any of you. I can talk about them for the simple reason that I watched at least an episode of each (except The Swan… I always refused to watch that one).

It would be easy to make the list longer, but let’s start with five.

 

Naked and afraid

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People love a good challenge, and I believe it is good to challenge yourself. Survival shows have been very popular over the years, and I can see the interest. But in ”Naked and Afraid” (for those of you who have never seen it before), two strangers are thrown naked and almost tool-less in the most inhospitable environments for three weeks. Why naked? Aside from complaints about getting bitten by exotic bugs on the butt, I don’t see how giving the contestants a pair of shorts and a t-shirt would take anything out of the challenge. Or do they do this because it is supposed to be entertaining to see people naked? It’s 2019! We can see naked people anytime we want on the internet… I don’t get it. I just don’t.

 

The Bachelor(ette)

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There are soooo many ”dating” shows I could have put here. I don’t see why people are willing to go on tv to find a mate. (yeah, I know… $$$$) I mean, getting into a relationship, especially if it ends up with two people falling in love is such an intimate thing… Anyway! In the Bachelor(ette), a single, healthy and desperate for love individual is matched with some thirty gorgeous pretendents, fighting to end up marrying him(her). On either side, I don’t see how these people can be comfortable with this concept. I could ramble for a long time about it, but let’s just take the last episode… After endless dating left and right, and eliminations the Bachelor is left with his two best picks among the original thirty, and has to choose a wife. Of course, things get over emotional, and there’s much crying and ”Who am I going to choose” going on. I sure wouldn’t like to see my soon-to-be husband cry his eyes out, having to eliminate the runner up! And if I was the Bachelorette, and I was in fact pretty much in love with two gorgeous men, I’d hate to have to choose right here and now, because, you know… The sun is setting, the Champagne bottle is ready, so 3, 2, 1, Action!

 

Adam looking for Eve

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Oh! This one was a real treat for me… You might never have seen it, as the original show is actually Dutch, but who knows? There might be a North American version I haven’t had the pleasure to watch! In this show, genius producers have put ”dating” and ”naked” together! Their official excuse is to take physical attraction out of the dating equation since the men and women can see it all, right away. What??? Tell me I am not the only one shallow enough to think that I wouldn’t have the most intellectual conversations ever, if you put me on an paradise island with a handsome stud wearing nothing but a smile?? Come on!! This is insulting. And IF that’s the real goal of the show, what’s the point of having all these naked people go do things that always involve jumping up and down, and running around? *Sigh* What’s next? Guys trying to find the love of their life, naked, while fighting annacondas with bare hands in the jungle? (I’m afraid I might give people some ideas here… Thank God, The Cove is not that popular!)

 

Man vs Food

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No naked people here. And no dating. Disappointed? I understand… But fear not, there are other absurdities we humans can do. You are probably aware of all the countries where people are starving, as we speak? Well, I hope this show will never make it there, because we might aswell send them a video just telling them ”You know what? We don’t give a damn!!” I don’t mind foodie shows in general. Wether they are about fancy food I’ll never be able to afford, weird food or cooking. But contests where people challenge themselves to overeat? Again… Why?? What pride is there, in being able to stuff your stomach with ten pounds of steak and a bucket of fries you could sit in? That’s not a talent… Or is it?

 

The Swan

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As I mentionned above, I never watched The Swan. So I can’t say much about it… But the concept itself just made me sick. Taking women considered ugly (OMG!! I mean… OMG!!) and making them go through an intense series of hard training, reconstructive dentistry and extensive plastic surgeries to turn them into Barbie dolls… Is there anything NOT WRONG about this show? Oh, excuse me, yes, there is an upside; it only aired in 2004! Aside from that, it is just an ode to artificial beauty, and a slap in the face of most women on the planet, if you ask me. Terrible.

 

Feel free to share your best picks of absurd or disturbing tv show concepts… I only watch so much television, and I haven’t seen it all, obviously. I am sure there are many more that maybe even top the five ones above!

44 thoughts on “And still, we’re watching…”

    1. I doubt it… I think the average human prefers a nice tease over full, raw nudity. I have the feeling that people working on new tv concepts just ran out of ideas, and started to pick already done shows, and added the ”naked” side to it to make it new again… I don’t see the point. There’s nothing sexy about the above-mentioned shows. What you and your dancer friends do, is! 🙂

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      1. Too sweet … though I doubt anyone would consider the stage of my current routine to be sexy (Attempting to hot-glue LEDs to craft foam nipple covers in the hope none of them will burn out at awkward moments or places …).

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      2. I’d have to see that to judge 😉

        Thank you for the good laugh, imagining the craft mishappening on stage 😛 Mouahahahahaha I am sure you’ll find a way to make sure everything stays where it should and doesn’t catch on fire! xx

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    1. LOL As I said, I am guilty of having watched at least one episode of each, but dang! Sometimes, I just realize how absurd what we are watching is, and I ask myself ”is that really the best you can do with your time??” Luckily, Chéri usually watches that kind of shows while I am blogging, so, I am often just half-watching Mouahahahahahaha

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  5. I’m always amused at the ‘survivor’ concept during which the cast, along with the film crew, the catering trucks, the coffee machines, the make-up artists and so on are jetted into some ‘remote’ destination and challenged to ‘survive’ in conditions that multiple generations of humans have already been living happily for centuries.

    Perhaps one watches such a show in the hope that a glimpse of nudity might alleviate the nauseating boredom of the experience.

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    1. I think we have become very bad at surviving, in general… I know many people who couldn’t live very long without today’s commodities…

      As for the nudity, you might be right. But the ones who seek the extra flesh must be quite disappointed since these shows usually have strategically placed blurry spots 😉

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      1. Ha ha! And then there’s ‘celebrity survivor’ in which individuals on the verge of popularity extinction try to extract the last few dollars out of their dull career.

        I’m surprised more of them don’t take their clothes off, actually, in a sad, final act of desperation.

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      2. I confess that I did actually watch one of those ‘naked dating’ shows once (though I couldn’t endure the whole thing). It was amazing how uninteresting they managed to make it. It was criminal, really ….

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    1. I know, right? I think a lot of young people seek some kind of fame, no matter how they can get it. And I am guessing there is some money involved too. At least I hope that’s why they do it… Otherwise, it’s kind of sad, when you stop and think about it.

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  7. I am too old I guess as I have not seen a single one of these shows. I have seen them promoted but have never watched one. The Swan one is to me repellent. And do they ever do it with men who are considered ugly. If the answer to that question is ‘no’ then I am even move against it.

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    1. I think it is not a matter of age, but maybe more of good judgement? 😉

      Unfortunately, I can’t say that I have ever heard about a Men version of The Swan. Not that I would have watched it, but at least, it would have been a lesser insult to all women. That show is one of the ugliest side of human kind I have (not) seen.

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  8. I’ve watched shows like American Idol and The Voice, but that’s it. I’ve never seen any of the “reality” shows you named. Not even “Survivor” or “The Amazing Race.” Sorry, I get enough reality in the real world. I don’t need to watch someone else’s “reality” on TV.

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    1. The ”reality” show wave is absolutely dumbing (is that even a word?). I have heard of a new shows here in Québec, where they follow trash trucks, snow plowers and even park-meter agents…. I mean, come on! Do we really need that on tv??

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  9. Hey Cyranny, l hope this finds you well. I have emailed you, and left messages here a couple of times on your blog, but can you tell me if your scented pends have arrived just yet? I would like to know, in case l am to send you a second set.

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    1. Hey Rory… Sorry for this! Since my return (yeah, I know, it’s been a hell of a month) I got terribly behind in my message-replying both in The Cove, and by email…. I have started a mass replying spree, starting with my most recent posts, and here I am 😉

      I have indeed received your pens (thank you, thank you, thank you!!) while I was in Denmark, and I wrote a post about it ( https://cyranny.com/2019/06/16/welcome-back-me/ )

      Again, many thanks for the nice touch of sweetness in my everyday life… I have a thought for you when I take one to note something down. Wether it is at home or at work 🙂 xx

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      1. Hey Cyranny, many thanks for getting back to me, my apologies l didn’t know you were away, or rather l thought you were back. If l hadn’t of heard, l was going to send you another pouch out, as l have learned that Canada for some reason sometimes never gets post, but l am truly glad they got there 🙂

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      2. Absolutely no appologies needed 🙂 I only blame myself for getting terribly behind… I am glad they are here too! And believe me, they are in good hands 😛

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      3. Splendid news, the best place for them is in hands – that’s the second place the magic begins, the first of course is our minds 🙂

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      1. I am not sure if any other country has this, but it has been the norm for a while in the UK for the press and media to vilify those on benefits and make it seem like they are workshy and they did a whole load of programmes on it and how people would say they were disabled and walked with a stick and would automatically get more money and make it seem like it was really easy, when the reality is its far from that

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    1. That’s a weird one I watch sometimes too! I think that the fact that I had a similar surgery in my early twenties might explain my interest… It is kind of sad to see people who let themselves go this far into overeating 😦

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