Reality TV

OK, I'll admit it - I watch reality shows. Not every one, but a lot of them. I've watched Survivor (but not every season), The Apprentice (which was a whole lot of fun), one season of Celebrity Mole (lame), Mad Mad House on the SciFi Channel, and have watched Newlyweds and The Osbournes on MTV. I'm sure there are others I've watched that I'm forgetting to mention. But I really wanted to point out that for all the mostly useless hours of watching vapid people spout off endlessly about themselves I've sat though during the runs of these shows, there is one reality show that I believe is a cut above the rest. A reality show that is worth watching, is engaging television the viewer can become invested in, and overall is a hell of a lot of fun. That show is The Amazing Race on CBS. It's a race around the world, it's an endurance test, it's a challenge-based strength and planning and intelligence test, it's a test of relationships. The fifth season will be shown this July, and I for one can't wait. I'm not quite as psyched as my wife is (because she is the biggest fan of the show EVER), but it's definitely a show I look forward to watching. And something that makes the show even more fun to watch every week is going to Television Without Pity.com (or TWoP for short) to read the recaps of each show. The brilliant folks at TWoP write recaps for many shows, like Survivor, The Apprentice, Newlyweds, Smallville, Angel, American Idol, etc. The recaps are written in a style that describes what happened on the show and also manages to bring a hilariously "snarky" tone to the shows that are either lacking in intellectual merit (I'm looking at YOU, American Idol) or to characters on the show who deserve to be taken down a peg or two. Well worth stopping by and reading a recap or two from your favorite show.