Given what I write about, you might think I only watch PBS, only read the newest economics tome. These Sunday posts have provided an opportunity for me to write about some other things, and today I'm going to praise two of the stupidest TV shows I've ever seen: Wipeout and I Survived a Japanese Game Show.
The first features a series of contestants traversing different water-based obstacle courses, the second a group of ten people shanghaied (Tokyo-ed?) to Japan and forced to compete in one of those ridiculous Japanese shows that seem to be as much about ridicule as competition.
These are absolutely as stupid as they sound, and I don't know that I'll hang with either for the full run. And yet...
There is something undeniably fun about seeing someone swing on a rope and travel about five feet before dropping into a pool, or watching a contestant run on a treadmill while a teammate tries to eat a sticky rice ball out of a bowl affixed to the runner's head. Do I feel good about taking such pleasure in the premieres of these shows last Tuesday? Probably not. But I can't help but think the primaries could have been made a lot more entertaining....
The first features a series of contestants traversing different water-based obstacle courses, the second a group of ten people shanghaied (Tokyo-ed?) to Japan and forced to compete in one of those ridiculous Japanese shows that seem to be as much about ridicule as competition.
These are absolutely as stupid as they sound, and I don't know that I'll hang with either for the full run. And yet...
There is something undeniably fun about seeing someone swing on a rope and travel about five feet before dropping into a pool, or watching a contestant run on a treadmill while a teammate tries to eat a sticky rice ball out of a bowl affixed to the runner's head. Do I feel good about taking such pleasure in the premieres of these shows last Tuesday? Probably not. But I can't help but think the primaries could have been made a lot more entertaining....
2 comments:
There certainly is a time and place for "stupid TV shows". Old "American Gladiators" re-runs have saved my family more than once while we were stuck in our hotel rooms on rainy days and there was absolutely nothing else to watch on TV.
It's just as well then I've never gotten sucked into "American Gladiators." It's bad enough that I've geared my summer Mondays around "The Mole," which isn't really as interesting as I (and they) would like to think (I'm probably just waiting around for the return of the much superior "Amazing Race").
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