See if you can spot the morality tales in the story behind the unfortunate suicide of Russell Armstrong. There are probably more than five:

EW:

Russell Armstrong was more than $1.5 million in debt at the time of his suicide Monday, according to his attorney, and his mother told Headline News that he was dreading the way he would be portrayed in the upcoming season of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. “Before the new season even started, before he took his life, he said, ‘Mom, they’re just going to crucify me this season,’” John Ann Hotchkiss told HLN’s Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell. “He said, ‘I don’t know what to do. I’ll never survive it.’”

Armstrong’s attorney Ronald Richards told ABC News that the show’s celebration of outrageous excess plunged Armstrong into debt “as a result of trying to keep up with expectations for the lavish lifestyle portrayed on the show.

“These couples join these shows, and then they keep trying to outdo each other and they end up spending all their money trying to sustain a lifestyle that’s unrealistic and wasn’t there prior to the show,” continued Richards. “The weekly social events, the dinners and all the BS, trying to pretend you have unlimited resources in Beverly Hills is tough. When every night is a potential sound bite or posting on a website, you end up getting addicted to it, you go out all the time.”

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A few years ago when the first “Real Housewives” show on Bravo surfaced quicker than pictures of Anthony Wiener in his BVDs,  the locale of the show was Orange County California, which, although is a serene and aesthetically beautiful area south of Los  Angeles, it just didn’t entice me as a New Yorker to follow all of these blonde, botoxed women. Fast forward a couple of years later and New Jersey was the selected state, specifically Northern New Jersey, which is quite different culturally than South Jersey.  Having spent an enormous amount of time in Northern New Jersey and being related to housewives of that area, I was curious to see where the line between fact and a good plot line would be drawn. After the first two seasons, what I found was the equivalent of eating a box of Entenmann’s chocolate frosted donuts 10:00 at night: it tastes good abut you feel completely toxic the next day.

There seems to be a cast type of the main characters for all of these “Housewives” shows: the not-so-bright but good hearted one, the bossy one, the one your a little jealous of, the lost one, and of course, the villain. On the New Jersey saga, the one who I thought was a little bit lost was Dina Manzo because it was hard to tell what she was searching for in life and was constantly seeking peace with teas, gems, and a spiritualist who became her BFF. Dina could not take the bad energy of the villain so she left mid-season, as did the villain Danielle Staub, who is now seeking treatment in stripper rehab after a three day gyration binge at Scores… I wish I was kidding.

As I awaited the new season of “RHONJ,” I was eager to see the prior Jerseyites who are Caroline–the bossy one, Jacqueline–the one I’m a little jealous of because no matter how many degrees are on my wall, my lifestyle is nowhere near what her’s is, and Teresa–the not so bright one, as evidenced by her malapropisms, but appears to be sweet and happy no matter what the circumstances are. (more…)

Stacy Drake at Conservatives for Palin:

Jim Geraghty has penned an article criticizing Governor Palin for a law she signed in 2008 that offers tax breaks to film companies who do business in Alaska. Geraghty states that the production company for “Sarah Palin’s Alaska” took part in the program and that it might be “problematic” for the governor “on the campaign trail.”

He writes:

It isn’t too hard to imagine this becoming problematic for Sarah Palin on the campaign trail, as noted by the Tax Foundation:

In case you missed it, small government crusader and Tea Party favorite Sarah Palin’s TLC reality show “Sarah Palin’s Alaska” received a $1.2 million subsidy from the state of Alaska. The show spent $3.6 million on production in the state, meaning that Alaskan taxpayers covered a third of the cost of the show. The show will apparently not have a second season.

Everything Palin has done has been perfectly legal, but it looks problematic for a crusader for small government to end up collecting a seven-figure paycheck from an endeavor that received a seven-figure subsidy, all set up by a program she signed into law. Of course, Palin set up the subsidy in 2008, and the TLC series wasn’t filmed until the summer of 2010, after Palin resigned as governor.

Which begs the question…. What’s the problem?

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There are a lot of things that most of us would have more use for in life than a new Paris Hilton reality television show.  Some sort of flesh eating virus or a scorching case of crabs comes immediately to mind, but the truth is that she is simply not worthy of another TV time slot. Paris has already had a few bites at the reality television apple.  To call her a ratings juggernaut would be like calling Carrot Top a chick magnet or referring to Bea Arthur as luscious.  In short, giving away a time-slot to Paris is a networks way of unofficially declaring that they have run out of ideas (I wonder why NBC hasn’t built a show around her yet?).  

So while the Oxygen Network is busy promoting “The World According to Paris” and hoping it is the type of “edgy” television that will make that horrible network relevant to the entertainment world, we are giving you a few celebrities who are more worthy of their own show than Paris Hilton. 

Lindsay Lohan is probably a pretty good candidate to have her own reality show.  There are few things that the American television audience likes more than stuff covered in chocolate.  One of the items on that short list would be watching a celebrity crash and burn.  Ironically, that same list would also include the redemption of the aforementioned celebrity, and their return from a booze and cocaine induced brink of disaster.  Lindsay still has pop culture value and considering the fact that the dress she recently wore to court is now sold out just about everywhere, apparently many still find her intriguing.  Let’s face it; it’s only a matter of time before Ms. Lohan shows up on Dr. Drew’s couch at “Celebrity Rehab.”  If she can stay out of jail long enough to make the pretentious claim of “being off the drugs and high on life,” a show that chronicles this burnt out star’s efforts to reignite may be a ratings draw.  Of course if you want to give the viewers what they really want, cover her in chocolate and let nature take its course. 

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Most media-watching conservatives have simply been flabbergasted at how the Old Media establishment has so neatly come together to destroy Sarah Palin. The Internet has been abuzz with examples of this attack on Sarah since she was chosen by John McCain to be her number two during the campaign for the 2008 presidential election. Every day there is a new example of it and here is yet another one.

This time it was penned by a “TV critic” for the Washington Post named Lisa de Moraes. De Moraes is well known for constantly injecting left-wing asides into her work and her Nov. 19 attack on the Palins is no exception.

She misled her readers (all 20 of them, I’m sure) right off the bat with her snotty headline, “Sarah Palin tries to lure Bristol’s huge ‘DWTS’ audience to her far less popular TLC reality series.”

What is with this “her far less popular” epithet? This claim is not based in logic.

De Moraes went on with her accusatory rhetoric.

Sarah Palin hopes to lure her daughter Bristol’s 20 million viewers to her own, far less popular, reality TV series this coming Sunday:

“Ah yes…Bristol-the-diva! Silly critics! See her diva-ish-ness Sunday, ‘Sarah Palin’s Alaska’ 2 learn truth, before assuming. Thanks & enjoy!” Sarah Palin tweeted Thursday afternoon.

Of course her every word is but hatemongering, left-wing spin not based on any real truthful analysis of TV. After all, anyone with a basic grasp of the statistics of TV would understand that her sniping was simply not based in reality.

First of all the 20 million viewers that “Dancing With the Stars” gets are not “daughter Bristol’s 20 million viewers.” They are the viewers of the show that Bristol happens to be appearing on for this one season. So, de Moraes’s first snark is not based in truth. (more…)

No longer just the shadowy territory of smaller, edgier brands, some of the biggest brands in America are now flocking to finance toxic pop culture to our youth and hoping you don’t notice.  

In a recent televised interview, NJ Governor, Chris Christie, took issue over MTV’s latest boozy sleaze fest, Jersey Shore. To his credit, Christie immediately distanced New Jersey from the unprincipled series, explaining that most of the characters in the show were “imported from New York,” and that in no way do they reflect the good people of the Jersey shore. Good and decent people from any state or any political party would distance themselves from this kind of outrageous “entertainment” targeted toward their youth, including most of the fine people of New York. However, this is oddly not the case with many major advertisers. To the contrary, this poster-child series for all things disgusting about pop culture seems to have a magnetic allure to some of the biggest advertisers in America. 

Broadcasting and Cable reported last week that earnings on Viacom’s (MTV) cable networks “jumped” this year. An MTV exec said, “While some of the programming giving MTV a boost might be seen as controversial (an artful understatement) …content issues are not scaring off sponsors. Actually there were some issues when Jersey Shore first launched. Now we have advertisers scrambling to get on it …we’re turning them away.” Viacom’s chairman, Sumner Redstone, said of the sudden stampede of major ad sponsors, “…the light is brighter than it’s been for some time.”    (more…)

Those chickens have come home to roost… or at least they will during the upcoming mayoral election in the Windy City if the new reality TV show being shopped by Chicago’s incendiary Father Michael Pfleger is concerned.

Chicago’s gadfly Father Pfleger, close friend of Minister Louis Farrakhan, outspoken anti-gun crusader, sanctuary city supporter, and liberation theologist is the Southside religious leader who once openly wished for the death of a local businessman and also once said, “America is the greatest sin against God.” Pfleger has been the subject of many “reviews” by the Catholic Church and was once suspended after attacking Hillary Clinton as a “white person” who felt privileged because of her race.

New show producer, Bud Billikin of Chicago’s South Side Productions, Inc., has announced that the new show will follow the Father Pfleger as he embarks on the adventure of a lifetime, a run for Mayor of Chicago.

On Friday Pfleger is expected to announce his run against long-time Democrat strongman Richard Daley whose father, a Mayor before him, was famed for having “helped” JFK win the White House in 1960.

“We expect quite a show,” Billikin told reporters. “The good Father has all sorts of great catch phrases to make his run interesting and what a speaker! Once these two get head-to-head in a debate the Father is sure to make Mayor Daley look like the bumbling, inarticulate fool he is.” (more…)

Back during its highly successful run, I loved the show “Friends.”  If I had the opportunity, I would have moved heaven, earth or (God forbid) my gaming night to meet the cast (except for Ross).  Today, I wouldn’t reschedule the sort of dentist appointment that involves sharp implements, hemorrhaging, and crying to be in the same room as the cast from “Jersey Shore.”  The reason for this is simple; the folks from Friends were stars.  The cast of Jersey Shore is rampaging herd of schmucks.  So why are we seeing more of the “Snooki” types on television and fewer Jennifer Anistons?  The answer is simple.  It’s all about money. 

Back in the good old days of television, there were really only three networks that provided most of the news and entertainment.  This meant that “Magnum P.I.” Tom Selleck only had to drive his Ferrari over James Naughton of “Trauma Center” and “Gimme a Break’s” Nell Carter to win his time slot.  Granted even the powerful car may have had problems getting over the, well, um…ample form of Ms. Carter, but Mr. Selleck managed to do it and charm his way to a ratings number of 22.4.  The success of the show, which had a lot to do with Tom’s massive appeal to the television audience, justified his $50,000 per episode price tag.  In today’s money that translates into over $100,000 per episode.  It is no longer 1983 though, and the times have dramatically changed. 

If Magnum P.I. were being produced today, it would not be competing against two other networks, but rather there would be over a dozen legitimate contenders for just about any time slot.  A diversified audience means that each show gets less than they did a couple of decades ago.  This is important when you consider that a ratings number is not just an ego booster that tells a producer they are winning a time slot.  A ratings number is a legitimate commodity that is converted to cash when advertising time is sold.  The bigger the number, the more money it is worth.  Ratings numbers are smaller today, but this connection between ratings and money seem lost on high profile stars.  Many still insist on premium salaries.   (more…)

OK, I walk into the TV room the other night expecting to watch some vintage Eastwood and what do I wind up watching instead? The Real Housewives of New Jersey — aka nouveau riche, high maintenance, goombah psycho bitches — are squaring off.

The Real Housewives of New Jersey

Their verbal barbs are mean and drawing blood and I can’t change the channel. Not since the meow days of Falcon Crest and Dynasty have I so wanted to see to see manicured claws maul Maybelline. But this feeling seems different somehow, and research on the way reality shows affect viewers appears to confirm that it is.

Are viewers more likely to emulate behavior when the characters on the screen are real people? The answer appears to be ‘yes.’ (more…)

Although I have not watched every season of “American Idol,” I really enjoy the show when I do. The singing competition often showcases some great undiscovered young singers. However, there are some parts of the show I dislike. For instance, earlier this year, during the audition portion, the show sometimes focused on those who had been rejected. These singers were often crying and tried to stay away from the cameras as they grappled with a harsh reality. If you take those personal moments, multiply them by a thousand and focus on that, that show would be “16 and Pregnant.”

Although I don’t want to compare the challenges of having a child to the disappointment of being rejected from a singing competition, the feeling I had as a viewer watching the rejected singer on “American Idol” and the entirety of  “16 and Pregnant” was the same. These are personal moments and stories that should be kept that way and not aired for an audience to enjoy. 

I’ve watched a few of the new episodes of “16 and Pregnant,” which is now in its second season on MTV. Each one focused on a unique girl dealing with teen pregnancy.  The “16” website noted that every “episode follows a 5-7 month period in the life of a teenager as she navigates the bumpy terrain of adolescence, growing pains, rebellion, and coming of age; all while dealing with being pregnant.” (more…)

It’s clear: Jon and Kate shouldn’t procreate. The “grocery-aisle-reading” public know Jon and Kate Gosselin from the tabloid tsunami over the reality TV couple’s impending divorce and apparent infidelity. For the rest of the fortuitous one percent who don’t know who I’m talking about — “Jon and Kate Plus 8” is a program in its fifth season on cable channel TLC.  he show was originally intended to chronicle two stressed-out, but steadfast, parents who attempt to raise a pair adorable twins and a set of sextuplets in the ‘burbs. ”It might be a crazy life,” mommy Kate says in the opening credits, “but it’s our life” adds daddy Jon. But lately, ‘crazy’ means Kate discovering Jon sleeping with babysitters, tabloid reporters and a bevy of bar room broads. Meantime, Jon calls the cops on Kate to throw her off the property during daddy’s visiting hours. Yep — it’s just good ol’ American family fun on TLC — “The Learning Channel.”

Thankfully, these gory details aren’t directly addressed on the program – at least, not yet. Instead, the show attempts to behave as if viewers are still interested in mommy’s camping trip, or her recipe for Moose Munch, or dad’s go-kart race. Hard to believe just a year ago, Jon and Kate were featured giving marital tips, writing a book about touching family moments — even renewing wedding vows in Hawaii. This was actually when everyone might have become suspicious — since when did renewing vows half way around the world become so important to a family of eight kids? Since Mom caught Dad bedding the chick from the biker bar down the street.  (more…)

Okay Class, stop sniffing your Sharpies in a futile attempt to reach a state of intoxication and try to take notes using that writing instrument and what brain cells you have left. Remember, if you can, that information you believe to be useless is, indeed, of no value whatsoever if you are unable to apply it in real-life situations, or at the very least for pc gaming “cheats.” Otherwise your very existence is no better than a work of fiction and bears no resemblance to any human being, past or present, living or dead. (Or in your cases, “living dead” or zombie, if you prefer, or the more inclusive term “differently animated.”)

Aristotle, in Poetics, slops the pearl that “art” is a “representation of reality.” By this definition, presentations of the creative sort contain something, if only a je ne sais quois, that can be recognized as a reflection of the human condition and the historical present. Reach back in time to The Epic of Gilgamesh, and out of the cuneiform pressed in clay comes the tale of a king’s hubris, lust for immortality, and ultimate understanding of his place in the world. Fast forward and select at random. “The Counsels of the Bird” by Rumi, Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest,  Eliot’s “Quartets,” “The Short Happy Life Of Francis MacComber” by Hemingway.  Consider Andy Warhol’s body of work as a commentary on the superficiality of modern culture; look at the content of  films, popular songs and television programs, comic strips and “illustrated novels,” with their wide diversity of theme and thought.  All these arts, of varying degrees of cultural significance, may be seen to generally adhere to Aristotle’s commentary. (more…)

When the end of the world comes, the four horsemen of the Apocalypse won’t greet us; The Real Housewives of New Jersey’ll tear us to shreds.

Television long ago brought something to the world that should never have been mixed: entertainment and reality. Because the moment you stick a camera in the face of reality, the reality gets lost. What you end up with is the ability for a camera to be on while a human being sheds all traces of its shame. That place where one openly cowers in a passive emotion while being in a public place.
I love a good car crash, not the sort that involves a motor vehicle and some poor slob texting-in his fantasy baseball picks. I’m talking about the car crash that is “The Real Housewives of New Jersey.”  Like a rubbernecking commuter getting one last look at those pretty flashing lights, I can’t take my eyes off that show. Its complete lack of shame coupled by the site of human beings unconsciously relishing in their own self-destruction is thrilling to me.

Shame is the lost gesture in today’s ugly world of reality TV and we need it back. It’s what separates us from the animals. (more…)

It’s always fascinated me how people can believe something that’s not true, and then get angry if you challenge them on it. After all, we’re all deluded. Each and every one of us. Don’t believe me? OK, check this out. You are more than likely sitting down right now. On a chair, stool, couch, whatever. It’s resting on a floor. The floor is part of a building. The building is on the ground which is part of your city. None of those things, except you, are moving, correct?

Wrong.

The city is in a country, which is on a land mass which is moving. The land mass is on a planet which is spinning. At the equator the spin is 1,038 miles per hour. At the poles it’s barely spinning at all. And the planet on which we rest is circling the sun at 67,000 miles per hour (30 kilometers a second). Our solar system is moving in our galaxy at 490,000 miles per hour or 220 kilometers per second. So what we perceive as stillness isn’t anything of the kind. If you think you are sitting still, you are deluded. (more…)