Reality TV, what a concept?

I belong to one of the smallest minority groups on America today and I and my people are under attack.  You see, other than the first season of The Apprentice, I have never seen more than about 30 consecutive seconds of any so-called "reality" show.

Sure I'm as likely as the next person to slow down at a traffic accident but just to get an idea of the damage; I most certainly do NOT want to see any carnage.  That's how I view these shows: slowing down to view emotional carnage.  "How conniving and underhanded will the tribe-members be this time?"   "My goodness, can you believe how lazy and out of touch that mother is to let her kids run around like that?"  "I bet Donald will see right through that two-faced tramp."  "Ooo, I wonder if Paula will be sober enough to get into another cat fight with Simon."  It's one thing watch a soap opera filled with such depravity but these are being sold to us as real people, real relationships, and real reactions.  I guess, like a sporting event, the "unpredictable" nature of it all has some appeal.  But as the editors and producers really are the ringmasters in this circus of humiliation, it's hardly cínema vérite.

I long for art, the creative expression of themes and ideas that move the human spirit, not just our baser animal nature.  I want to hear snappy, crisp dialogue like on West Wing or Cheers or Frasier.  I want to get to know complex characters like Andy Sipkowicz or Dr. Gregory House or Alan Shore.  I want to be challenged by edgy comedies like The Simpsons or Arrested Development.  I want a chance to enjoy creepy yet fun experiments like Twin Peaks and Eerie, Indiana.

"Reality Television", IMNSHO, is to culture what a Big Mac is to cuisine.  It passes the time as effectively as McDonald's can fill your stomach.  And, it's just as cheap...but with a far better return on the investment.  Money drives the nets to make them and craven scheudenfreud drives many to watch them.  

I do not watch "reality" unscripted television.  I do not want to watch it.  I was particularly careful to avoid these shows when we were a Nielson house but still they persist.  And as more and more of them fill the airwaves, there's less and less original programming.  I and my fellow television minorities are under attack and left with no recourse but to retreat from television even more.  But that further separates us from the society at-large.  We are being exiled within our own living rooms.

Regrets, I've had a few...

Maybe because it is the Lenten season this time of year is often a time for reflection which, for me, invariably leads me to ponder the road(s) not taken.

”Of all the words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these... it might have been.” -- John Greenleaf Whittier

Not to discount the wonderful things in our lives now which we might have missed had we taken a different path, however, there’s always the “what if” of our past that bubble up every now and again. So without diminishing current relationships and states in life, what are your regrets of your past? I’ll start.

I regret…
• … being overweight throughout high school (and my entire life) which robbed me of so much self-confidence that I never thought I was worthy of the relationships I really wanted (e.g. Kendra Torrey: extremely cute, highly intelligent, talented musician and completely out of my league.) or the roles I desired (Editor-in-Chief, or the lead in the plays).
• …not “playing the field” in my early years. (Could never master being the kind of jerk that women seemed to go for; I was always the “pal”—the pal who goes home alone.)
• …listening to my well-meaning mother and all the others who convinced me that acting and performing is only for “special” people.
• …not joining the military because I thought I was too much of an anti-authority smart-ass (and a physical wimp).
• …not understanding the inherently adversarial relationship between schools and parents of special ed kids early on.
• …never learning to ask for help when I didn’t understand something.

Interestingly, I never realized until now that all of my regrets are things I didn’t do, not things I did. I guess that’s what comes from being a “good kid”. No criminal record but a feeling that you missed out on a lot. But before we spend too much time on this, another quote would be instructional:

“Regret is an appalling waste of energy; you can't build on it; it's only good for wallowing in.” – Katherine Mansfield

It’s taken me some time but I’m finally at a point where I can look back on my regrets and simply accept them like the scar on my hand. It’s not particularly attractive but it is part of what makes me uniquely me.