A few years ago the Kardashian name cropped up again (Robert had passed in 2003). However, this time, the spotlight was on one of his four children, Kim, an attractive, petite, Armenian looking woman, who was part of the Hilton sisters’ crowd. The next thing I know there is a show on E! about the whole clan which includes Kim, her sisters Khloe and Kourtney, her brother Robert Jr. and her half-sisters who are in their early teens, Kylie and Kendall. The parents, and I use the term loosely, are Kris Jenner, who divorced Robert Sr. in 1989, and Bruce Jenner, a gold medal Olympic winner and an integral part of American sports history. Does this sound even remotely interesting? Well, if you said “no,” you are probably in the majority. However, if you said “yes,” you are in luck because they are on their fourth show in two years.

To summarize the lives of these people, the older girls own a few clothing stores in LA and Miami, although other than holding up some tops and cooing over how cute they are, I have never seen them engage in an actual transaction, though they did reprimand an employee for coming in late once. They also get paid for appearances (they call this “work”), put their names on perfumes that they have professed to have mixed in the lab themselves like Madam Curie, and eat out a lot. Mother Kris is the manager of these girls and tries to farm them out like Lynne Spears and Dina Lohan combined. She refers to lunch at the Ivy as “meetings.” They all speak in monotone voices and often use the words “like,” “issue,” and “stuff”. What I do find admirable is that when they are faced with any romantic crisis, they stay in bed for one whole day, but lo and behold, by the next day they are all primped and ready to go declaring that they are “over it and have moved on.”  Now, that, needs to be bottled and sold to women across America.

One of the saddest parts of the show is Bruce Jenner. His post-athlete occupation is that of a motivational speaker and he has been seen coming home with a briefcase. In one perplexing episode he asks Kris for money, complaining that she doesn’t even give him enough of an allowance to buy his morning coffee. What was even stranger was that there was a shiny red Keurig coffee maker right in back of him as he was begging like a homeless person.

The way the older girls speak to their mother is a bit disturbing. I am sure when your mother is your manager there is a different dynamic to the relationship, but at times it seems a little over the line. Khloe likes to push her Mother’s buttons by talking to her using foul — and I mean foul – language. Or, if they’re annoyed with her, they ignore her phone calls when she has been trying to get in touch with them to book their next gig. Talk about biting the hand that feeds you.

As far as the two teenage girls Kyle and Kendall, it does not look like a great environment for these young ladies since there is no filter as to what they hear and see.  In another episode, Kris had been putting herbal Viagra into Bruce’s coffee (she made it in the Keurig) which could have easily have knocked off Bruce for good, but instead had them locked up in their bedroom every morning. The younger ones were clearly aware that their parents were not gathering their tax documentation and patiently waited for them to emerge so they could start their day. Time will tell on that one.

Then there are the personal lives of the older girls. Kim has been in an on-again/off-again relationship with Reggie Bush of the New Orleans Saints, which seems to be on-again just like her daily manicures and shipments of free Prada pocketbooks. Kourtney is known for having gotten pregnant with her ex-boyfriend Scott, they are trying to make a go of their relationship but I think they need to start by finding out what this guy; who wears his Ralph Lauren sweaters tied around his shoulders preppy-style, does for a living.  Khloe was on every magazine cover this past fall for her wedding to Lamar Odom of the L.A. Lakers, who she had known for five weeks prior to their wedding day.  I must say by all accounts, Lamar seems like a stand-up guy, but Khloe honey, please, stop saying you are going to spend the rest of your life with him–that’s the Hollywood kiss of death.

Overall this is not a show based on any kind of morality; it’s more about living in the moment and dealing with the consequences at another time. They say they are like any other family which is true, if you believe in reality shows and unicorns.

Neither is mine.

Fortunately Joel McHale & Co. monitor all of these fine programs-and countless others-on my behalf, identify their most absurd moments, then mock them mercilessly in an easy-to-swallow half hour of weekly television fun.  Welcome to The Soup, which airs Friday nights at 10pm ET on E! 

The show, which has existed in various iterations for years, has reached new comedic heights on McHale’s watch.  In a nutshell, it features 22 minutes of distilled television trash; the very worst of what American culture has to offer.  Degenerate attention-seekers looking for “true love?”  Check.  Startlingly self-absorbed celebrities padding their inflated egos?  Indeed.  Washed-up/cashed-strapped stars demeaning themselves for a paycheck?  Oh yes.  The Soup peddles in the lowest- common-denominator programming that’s beamed to cable boxes and satellite dishes from coast to coast every day. 

So why bother to watch? 

First of all, the show is hysterical.  It’s impressive to see what a group of good writers, a charismatic host, a green screen, and a few outrageous video clips can accomplish.  While the humor sometimes falls short (the brief on-camera skits are generally pretty lame), McHale’s sarcastic evisceration of what passes for entertainment these days reliably includes a handful of laugh-out-loud one liners.  Often the clips themselves are so preposterous that they don’t even require an additional punch line, but McHale delivers anyway.

Second, The Soup serves up a convenient Cliff Notes guide to popular culture on a weekly basis.  The fact that it’s so entertaining is gravy.  Like many people with jobs, I have neither the time nor the stomach to watch even a small fraction of the rubbish McHale skewers, but I still value having a basic awareness of the shows that millions of Americans-many of whom are my peers-regularly consume.   Do I care if Spencer (and his creepy flesh-colored beard) and Heidi are still “married” on The Hills?  Of course not.  But approximately 90 percent of high school girls (who will soon be eligible to cancel out my vote) know all about the picayune details of this soulless, made-for-tv couple’s pseudo-relationship.  If conservatives, already panicky about “young people” and how they’ll vote, have no clue what’s relevant to the very group they’re wringing their hands about, it may prove rather difficult to relate to them, no?  Perhaps this is a juicy rationalization I employ to justify watching the show, although point #1 is the only reason I really need.

Finally, the show generally reinforces traditionalist values.  Bear with me here.  Admittedly, when partisan snipes sneak into the script, they’re usually aimed at Republicans.  And yes, I’m aware that Keith Olbermann is a huge Soup fan, which does give me pause.  Nevertheless, the vast majority of The Soup’s content features McHale flogging the entertainment industry for its gutter values.  He repeatedly rips celebrities over their insufferable self-importance-a theme that conservatives can appreciate.  (That McHale reserves a special brand of antipathy for Tyra Banks wins him extra points).  He also blasts the depraved, over-sexed “stars” of reality shows who seem willing to jump into bed with whomever it takes just to extend their 15 minutes of fame by a few seconds.  His frequent references to sexually transmitted diseases are always good for a chuckle, but they also subtly remind the audience of how disgusting promiscuity and its consequences can be.  While many of these dreadful shows actually celebrate the ignorance of those who appear on them, McHale will have none of it; slapping down this type of foolishness with added gusto. 

The implicit message behind the derision is that it really isn’t cool to be myopic, rude, slutty, or ignorant.  The unseemly behavior glorified on these shows may buy someone a few weeks in the limelight, but will serve that person very poorly in the long term.

The Soup is certainly not for everyone.  Its content and humor is often crass and may offend some people.  It also may take a bit of time to grow on certain viewers.  Not everyone will be instantly enamored with recurring segments such as “Chat Stew,” “Let’s Take Some E,” or “Scenes from Home Shopping.”  Still, if your gut impulse is to ridicule, rather than to accept or even applaud, popular culture, you may find an unlikely ally in Joel McHale.  There will be an extensive menu of television options this Friday night.  May I recommend The Soup?