Ah, summertime. The time of endless reruns and really bad reality shows (think Big Brother).
First, I must say that I am really impressed with NBC for airing the new lottery-themed drama series Windfall during the summer. What a smart idea! Sure the writing is pretty bad (it's about on the same level as Fox's canceled show Reunion) and you could really care less about most of the characters (plus, there's way too many of them). But it's great to have a new drama to watch over the summer and yes, I'm sucked in after only two mediocre episodes. Hey, it's better then reruns.
VH1 has a pretty entertaining show right now called Super Group. It's a reality show featuring five rockers who form a new band together, this time with the unfortunate name of Damnocracy. (Their first name pick was FIST, so I guess Damn is slightly better?). Okay, so I'm an '80s heavy metal fan and I really do love Sebastian Bach, even though he is a diva and a loudmouth. The rest of the Super Group? Well, you can hate Ted Nugent, but there's something likeable about the guy, too. The guy from Anthrax, he's pretty low key and seems like a decent guy. Jason Bonham is mature and demands respect (after all he is the offspring of Led Zep legend John Bonham). I can't stand the porn guy-- Evan something or other who is from the group Biohazard, but really makes his living directing porn shoots starring his wife. Classy. But I do like this show, I really do, and it's nice to see Bas not so caked out anymore. (He was kinda chunky the last time I saw him on VH1).
Over at MTV, I like The Hills starring Laguna Beach's Lauren (LC) Conrad. The show is visually beautiful, just like Laguna Beach was, and all of the "characters" are pretty and perfectly coifed and accessorized. The converstions sound badly scripted even though it's supposed to be a reality show. Put it this way: the kids on this show are definitely aware that the cameras are there! Still, it's a show that I like-- it's sort of like background noise and it doesn't even matter if I miss an episode because there's no plot to miss.
The latest MTV Real World Road Rules challenge features all of the evil regulars (like Tina and Coral) and a dozen or so newbies dubbed the "fresh meat." It's pretty funny how all of the members of the Austin RW cast are being voted off. Apparently they don't deserve to be there because Tina and Co. have paid their dues on previous challenges and they feel it's their "right" to make it to the end. I sometimes wonder why some of these kids agree to do these shows over and over again, but I think they get at least four grand just to be on the show, plus more if they win.
And then tomorrow, Big Brother 7 starts. Possibly the worst show on television. And yes, I'll be watching.
