Reality check

I have a new guilty pleasure. This morning I was flipping the channels at 830 (it's Saturday) and stumbled accross a show that, while not being relatively new, is new to me. I was instantly hooked. I mean I watched the back-to-back episodes till now-- 2 1/2 hours later! It's "Confessions of a Matchmaker" on AandE. The first time I saw it a couple of weeks ago, I thought, "Who is this woman, and why is she asking these people to change their entire identity just to find love?" But after watching 5 episodes I realized that she actually counsels them to uncover their authentic selves. It's actually very touching in some cases, and in other cases a bit out there and quite weirdly entertaining. She must do very well, and to me it is a brilliant business idea!



Then there is another reality show, which when I heard about it I thought it was a horrible idea, called "Kid Nation". They take a bunch of kids ages 8 to 15 and through them in a town without adults for 40 days. My first thought was, "That has the potential to be a complete disaster for the kids. But surely they won't be totally alone!" Anyway, there was an article in today's paper about the complete uproar regarding abuse on this show. It turns out that these children may or may not have in fact been unsupervised as the show claims. And 2 children actually drank bleach and were hospitalized. Another 9 year old girl badly burned herself with cooking oil trying to cook by herself. But according to CBS the set was crawling with paramedics, psychologists, and pediatricians. If that were the case then how could these injuries have occured? And others were, obviously, tormented and teased mercilessly by gangs of kids. DUH! Not only that, to me THE most disgusting part of this process (and it rings especially to my ear because I work in the business) is that this television show and it's producers picked a state that had a loop hole in the child labour laws that allowed the kids to be in front of the camera for 14 hours at a time. 14 HOURS!!!! CBS and the attorney general of New Mexico claimed that the loop hole was that the children were actually NOT EMPLOYED and that the experience was VOLUNTARY and therefore child labour laws do not apply. That loop hole has since been firmly shut. I have seen many instances of this sort of thing in my job, and it is extremely disturbing. Some parents will do anything for their kids to be famous... including signing up for this ridiculous show, Kid Nation. The first thing I thought when I read this article is "What in the HELL is wrong with these parents??!!!" I could not even begin to fathom sending Ellie off at 8 years old (she's 8 in a few months) for 40 days and nights without anyone around that loves her and is looking out for her safety and well being. Not only that, the parents had to sign a contract that stated that the children were to do EVERYTHING THAT WAS ASKED BY THE PRODUCERS, and if they didn't they would be EJECTED from the show and the $5,000.00 they were paid before hand would be FORFEITED. Brutal! Now there is an investigation into the matter and hopefully it will not spawn a sequel or similar show idea.


On a lighter note, another of my favs is "Gene Simmons Family Jewels". Outside he is king... inside his house Shannon and his amazingly well adjusted kids rule. So funny, so cute. Check it out!

Have a great weekend!