the inferno

alright, so i really should come clean. ive pretty much been hiding something for a long time and i just dont like living this way. throughout the past year or so ive 'revealed' myself to some close friends that i have felt comfortable with, but i havnt really just come out and declared it to everyone. and i really should since, when i think about it, this is who i am, and what im all about, and i should be ashamed of that.

i watch 'real world/road rules challenge' on mtv and i like it.

i really do. i know that it is crap reality tv. i know its incredibly cheezy. i realize, thanks to lindsey, that most of the show is probably staged.* but for some reason i still like it. and i think i should finally just come to terms with it and not be so ashamed. so how did i come to like the show? well, a few years ago i had two roommates, for anonymity purposes we will call them mave exelgard and dorgan aldridge. mave likes apple computers and dorgan is a crazy good athlete. anyways, both of them also liked real world/road rules challenge. but i actually never watched the show with them. i would watch parts of some episodes and i found it midly entertaining, nothing incredible, but i wasnt turned off from the show. well, last year, one fateful saturday afternoon, i found myself alone at home browsing through the tube when an episode came on. i watched. i enjoyed. i followed. i hid in shame. but no longer.

so i have decided to come out with this and come to terms with it and quit being ashamed because i realized that 1. all reality shows are equally pathetic and 2. everyone likes at least one show. im sure that plenty of people will mock me for liking this show then turn around and watch 'i love new york' or 'america's next top model.' and ill mock them for liking those shows.

its easy to mock because each and every reality show has so many elements to it that should make an average human being throw up all over themselves. most reality shows are fun to watch with a group of people because you can all sit around and comment on how ridiculous the people are. for instance: this season of 'the inferno' is set in south africa. in the opening credits the cast runs through some cgi grassland, and at the end stop and stare at the camera in their best (and by best i mean sexiest and skimpiest) camo gear. clearly demonstrating that they are suited and ready for warfare. i can hardly hold down my reflux. but its almost as if that reflux is what makes reality tv so enjoyable. if i didnt get the reflux i would be concerned. strange.

so like most reality tv, the premise of the show is very complicated. old cast members from mtv's real world and road rules (2 reality tv shows) are brought together, put on an exotic location and they compete in different team challenges. the winning team gets money. also at the end of each episode two people from each team square off in the inferno with the losing person being sent home. but most of the show is comprised of the competitions. they show a little bit of the people hanging out at their house at night and inevitably there is some drama, but not too much and the show isnt based around these people just sitting around talking about who can drink the most alcohol and who can be the first to find a reason to have to take off their clothes and get in the hot tub - like the real world. so its mostly competition, with a small amount of drama thrown in.

but the details of the show dont really matter. they never really do with reality tv. because all reality tv is pretty much crap. its all filled with lame drama and people just trying to get noticed and be in front of a tv camera. or the people are just losers and they are put on the show so that we can laugh at the fact that they are losers and feel that we are better than they are and thus be drawn to the show because we have a feeling of superiority. by the way, i am not by any means endorsing or trying to sell this show. im embarassed to recommend it to anyone. im sure that if you watched it you would think less of me and never read anything i ever wrote again - just me posting this is probably making that happen. of course, if you do watch it by your own free will and choice, i welcome your commentaries as i am happy to send you my commentaries about the reality tv show of your choice.

anyways, i better end this since i feel like im rambling and im not really sure where im headed with any of my thoughts. i mainly just wanted to make this announcement and now that im trying to express myself i realize i dont know exactly how i feel about all of this and im starting to get confused again about who i really am. and its taken me so long to get here that im just not prepared to go back. at least not until this season is over.



*for any that were unaware. my sister lindsey happened to live with 3 girls that are on the reality show 'paradise city.' the show is TERRIBLE. lindsey has a cameo on the first episode. but lindsey, now with firsthand reality experience, informed me that the show is almost all completely staged. not that im surprised by that after watching an episode. but i now have to assume, that all are at least in part staged.