Five shows I will currently drop everything to watch

[apocalypsos]

1. Project Runway. Well, duh.

2. Make Me A Supermodel. Which I didn't think I would like and it turns out I love to pieces. Bitchy models! Slashy boys! Pretty clothes! Woohoo!

3. Celebrity Rehab. You'd think it'd be cheesier, because there is a mental disconnecting lag between when you first start watching and you're thinking, "Oh, wow, Judy from Family Matters really existed! And now she's an addict. Huh," and later episodes when you're like, "Oh, man, these people need so much help." Particularly Jeff Conaway, which ... DAMN. And then there's Daniel Baldwin, who does a lot of stomping around the clinic like the nerdy studious older sister snotting around the house during your giggly fourth-grade sleepover all, "Do you MIND? I'm trying to get SOBER here! Hmph!" And then he leaves because he tries to get Mary Carey to take her top off, or something.

4. Supernatural. Well, duh. I know some people are loving it and some people aren't, but honestly, considering the writer's strike at this point I'm just grateful for every new episode we get.

5. Any VH-1 list show. And I'm currently proving that by watching the second hour of VH-1's 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders.

Comments

[denorios.livejournal.com]

Wait a minute, Celebrity Rehab is an actual show?! They're making entertainment out of people's struggles in rehab? Dear God.

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

I don't know if I'd call it entertainment so much as interesting. It feels a lot like Intervention except it's famous people and Dr. Drew's in charge. I mean, you kind of expect it's going to be all cheesy and stupid and it turns out it's seriously uncomfortable most of the time.

[denorios.livejournal.com]

I guess the idea of these people's private and very difficult struggles with substance abuse being displayed across the airwaves makes me very uncomfortable, but then I don't really like reality TV in general.

I suppose there's some educational and informative value to seeing what people go through in rehab and how hard it is and what substance abuse reduces people to, and you could argue that people are more likely to watch a reality TV show involving celebrities on the subject than a hard-hitting serious documentary, but the idea of making entertainment - and that's what a lot of people will view it as - out of something which can ruin lives and tear families apart just horrifies me.

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

I get the impression sometimes when I'm watching that all of these people have done the quiet private rehab thing over and over and OVER again and it just hasn't worked, and they see this as an opportunity to put themselves out there in a way that makes them accountable to more people.

[denorios.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I can see that. My worry is that the added pressure of millions of people watching and judging is exactly what these people don't need. And changing because people want you to change is not the way to go about it. It's internal. It's a cliche, but they have to want to change, for themselves, not for anyone else. I think I'd find it all a bit painful and voyeuristic to watch, but as I said, not a fan of reality TV anyway!

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

It's a little hard to watch, but it doesn't take long for it to turn around and you really start hoping all of these people clean up and get better.

And as for putting their addictions out there, Jeff Conaway and Daniel Baldwin both had these huge blow-ups on other VH-1 shows already when they were wasted (I think it was Celebrity Fit Club for both of them) so it's not exactly like it's the first time their addictions have been laid bare for the world to see. At least this time it's them trying to get help rather than them showing up loaded and screaming at their co-stars on a reality show. (I'm thinking being on the show might actually help Jeff if only because his girlfriend is an enabling dirtbag and the cameras keep catching her trying to sneak him drugs and alcohol, and I don't know if the cameras are guilt-tripping him or what, but he's doing well at the really difficult job of shooting her down. Hopefully, it'll lead to him breaking it off with her.)

[jellicle.livejournal.com]

I watch 3 of the shows you list and I love them to death, even when they piss me off :)

[thebratqueen.livejournal.com]

Celebrity Rehab is awesome and everyone should watch it.

Though it is so hard to figure out who, between Daniel Baldwin and Ricco, is the more ginormous tool.

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

I lean towards Daniel Baldwin, although Ricco is a very close second. Ricco's a douchebag, but at least he's an admitted douchebag.

And okay, if Seth's adorable little boy being all, "You're going to stop doing bad things?" in that hopeful wee voice on the phone doesn't stop him and everybody in a fifty-foot radius from doing drugs from sheer adorableness, I don't know what will.

[thebratqueen.livejournal.com]

I just think it says so much about how MUCH of a tool Daniel is that he's in a tool competition with a guy who put his supposedly dead girlfriend's body in the driver's seat of their car.

BTW I assume you heard how Daniel texted a picture of his dick to Mary, right?

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

Wait, was she really dead or did he just think she might be dead?

OH MY GOD WHY AM I EVEN ASKING THAT? *HEADDESK*

I just remember how he had this very "Aren't I just a troublesome little devil?" attitude about it, while every single woman at the table was literally leaning away from him.

BTW I assume you heard how Daniel texted a picture of his dick to Mary, right?

WHAT. EW. WHAT.

[thebratqueen.livejournal.com]

What boggles my mind is that THAT GIRLFRIEND IS STILL WITH HIM. That - I just have no words. Except to say it's another example of how mental health care is such a joke in this country.

And yeah. The whole text message exchange included Daniel sending Mary a picture of his dikc that he took with his cameraphone. 'cause he's all about how much he loves his wife.

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

I don't know. It looks from the previews like she might be regaining her sanity. (The same might be said for Jeff -- if this whole alcohol dust-up leads to him breaking up with that enabling moron, I'll cheer.)

Oh, well, Mary was a porn star so it's not like it counts. *eye roll* Ugh. So gross. And I'm loving her, so that just pisses me off even more.

[thebratqueen.livejournal.com]

I really feel for her. She got dealt such a shitty hand in life. She's only in her 20s too!

[jim-smith.livejournal.com]

Wait, was she really dead or did he just think she might be dead?

According to Ricco, he was driving and she was knocked out in the accident and he thought she was dead, so he switched places with her--presumably on the logic that it would save him from another DUI and she's too dead to care, so it's win-win. The cops saw right through this but she stuck with his story and took the rap for him.

What I loved is that he told this story to that Shelley chick and she totally no-sold it. Then he told his girlfriend "I told Shelley that story--" and she's all "and she hated it right?" And Ricco's all "But all our friends like that story!" and his girlfriend's all "Yeah, because all our friends are assholes."

[madripoor-rose.livejournal.com]

Jeff Conaway? Damn. I was just watching an old Babylon 5: Crusade tape and wondering if Eilerson's ex Liz Allen was any relation to Zack. I've been watching Dirty Jobs and Flash Gordon as my 'drop anything to watch shows' but we had the season finale of Flash last night. I also have a stack of taped-from-broadcast tv series and tv movies taller than my head that I'm working through.

[angels3.livejournal.com]

Well I'm obviousley a scifi geek cause mine are

1. Supernatural

2. Bones

3. Moonlight

4. Sarah Conner Chronicles

%. Life

[tigress35.livejournal.com]

Your list of TV priorities is disturbingly exactly like mine. Re: 3... Dr Drew is just so awesome. I could watch him communicate with people all day. I swear I learn something new about how to talk to someone (not even drug addicts, necessarily) by watching him in action.