My TV Guilty Pleasures
embarrassing, Fun March 7th, 2008Warning: If you only watch public television or if don’t even own a TV, go away now or this post will make your over-cultured head explode. I mean it.
What we have today is my list of TV guilty pleasures. By definition, they are:
Shows that you wouldn’t admit to watching in mixed company.
Shows with little, if any, redeeming value.
Shows that you’re terribly embarrassed you enjoy.
I’ll link to some informational web sites about these shows so that non-U.S. readers, who may have never heard of them, can get a better sense of why I can’t be trusted with the remote control.
Here we go.
1. The Brady Bunch — (in syndication) I have seen every episode of The Brady Bunch more than a dozen times. I grew up on this show in the 70s and it’s got kitsch written all over it. Forty-something women have no excuse for knowing the dialogue word-for-word from any show that has been lampooned so brutally in theatre and movies. Bonus: I bought this book and thoroughly enjoyed it.
2. The Price is Right (current) — This is a long-running daytime game show featuring price-guessing games, played by people who look like they were pulled off the street five minutes before taping. It’s the kind of show most people wouldn’t watch, even if they were home sick with the flu. I have watched it when I’m home sick because there’s no greater remedy for what ails me than watching someone fall to the floor because they overspun the gigantic money wheel trying to get a spot in the Showcase Showdown.
3. America’s Next Top Model (current) — This is a show for 13-year-old girls to learn how to damage their self-esteem even further than it already is. It has no redeeming value, yet I have been known to blow most of a Saturday watching marathon airings of previous seasons I’ve already seen. I hang my non-model-y head in shame.
4. The Anna Nicole (Smith) Show (2002 – 2004) — Two words: Train Wreck. RIP, by the way.
5. Family Feud (current) — “Survey Says!” this is a stupid show, but I love it anyway. The questions are as silly as they come, the contestants insist on clapping for every answer they give, no matter how dumb, and I hate the noise the answer board makes when correct answers are revealed. Yeah. What’s not to love?
6. Supermarket Sweep (1990-1995) — The grand daddy of all TV guilty pleasures, and oh, how I miss it. After a series of grocery-related questions that earn contestants shopping spree time, they fire up their carts and run around the store trying to collect the most expensive items. The contestants whose carts are tallied and cost the most get to move onto the bonus round.
What makes this the all-time most embarrassing admission for me is that I used to TAPE THE SHOW and watch it after work every day. My sister Ann loves to mock me whenever the subject comes up and I absolutely deserve it. Here’s a clip of the best part of the show, where contestants run around the store collecting their items. Fast-forward to the 1:30 mark if you can’t stand the suspense.
Now, here’s the part where you embarrass yourselves. If you dare, drop a comment in the drawer and let me know your TV guilty pleasures. Remember, the embarrassment level is key here. The more you’re mortified, the better!
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No one at Humor-Blogs.com will let me have the remote.
Stumble it!
March 11th, 2008 at 5:19 pm
Peter — You’ll never have to worry about running out of bad television. We’ll try to send the best of our worst!
JD (The Uneasy Supplicant) — Most people watch the Idol series to hear the best singers. I’m hooked on the first few weeks when they roll out the embarrassing worst singers. My husband cringes and begs me to turn the channel, but that’s the best part!
March 12th, 2008 at 8:06 am
So, you say you watched the “Anna Nicole Show” like there’s something with it.
I also watch “American Idol” and become obsessed with “Survivor” (still), and even though I don’t watch “Big Brother,” I have seen the three-hour voyeuristic nightmare that is “Big Brother After Hours” on Showtime, where you see just how boring these people are between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and Midnight Pacific Time. Yes, that means I’m watching from midnight to 3:00 a.m.
I’m also addicted to “Ghost Hunters” and “UFO Hunters” “Paranormal State” and “Destination Truth.” Well, I say addicted, but what I mean is when I’m surfing and see that they’re on, I’ll watch them. If “Ghost Hunters” and UFO Hunters” are scheduled at the same time, I’m torn! (I haven’t admitted yet that TiVo would make sense in my home, as I don’t want to admit that I NEED to see these programs!).
Don’s last blog post..Orthodox Lent
March 12th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
I watch the ANTM marathons also. I hunt for them. (no TiVo here, either) I cannot seem to make myself stop watching them even when I know who wins and when the girls are driving me mad. Mad, I say!
Also, the daytime court shows: People’s Court, Judge Maria Lopez, Judge Mathis, Judge David Young, Judge Alex…pretty much everyone except Judge Judy, and sometimes her, too, but she’s really mean and rude.
And a lot of times…The Tyra Banks Show. Like I don’t get enough of her on ANTM.
I have seen Supermarket Sweep and always thought they should go for the meat. But now I have to agree with meds.
Anybody notice on The Brady Bunch that Tiger just disappeared one day and nobody ever mentioned him again?
And Jeff, Hannah Montana is *not* on all the time on Disney…my daughter would be in heaven. And I confess (only because you people wouldn’t know me if you bumped into me at the grocery store) that I have actually continued watching The Disney Channel even after my kids have left the house.
I also watch Friends reruns, but that doesn’t seem to be as much of an embarrassment. mk
markira’s last blog post..Wow. Just, Wow.
March 12th, 2008 at 5:14 pm
Don — Anna Nicole Smith was a once in a lifetime find. You couldn’t get much better than her for bad TV. I hated myself for watching it, yet I couldn’t look away.
I watch Survivor on fast forward. Don’t know why I give it my time. Habit? My husband just loves all those ghost and UFO shows. Tapes them all. He’s totally into that genre. Me, I just want more Supermarket Sweep!
markira — I think what I like about ANTM is all the production stuff, like how they can make fairly average girls look so good on camera. And I enjoy watching them be judged and knocked down a peg or two. I know. I’m evil.
As for Supermarket Sweep, I don’t know why the one guy in the video went for water jugs? Huh? It costs a dollar and takes up half your cart!
The dog who played tiger was killed in a car accident, wasn’t he? And maybe they just didn’t replace him?
March 12th, 2008 at 7:39 pm
Yeah, that’s what happened to the dog who played him. It was just interesting that they never actually did anything with the dog character. Never explained him away, nothing. Just…silence.
I love the behind-the-scene stuff at ANTM, too. And I think Nigel should do more of the photography. Or just stand around and talk or something. He is hot.
markira’s last blog post..Wow. Just, Wow.
March 13th, 2008 at 3:51 am
markira — There was a lot to be puzzled about on the Brady Bunch. Ever notice there’s no glass in the patio doors?
Ah, Nigel. Yeah, he could just stand there. I’m glad Tyra hasn’t put him on the chopping block like she did with some of the other judges. The show needs a little Nigel.
March 13th, 2008 at 6:45 am
Hell with the show. *I* need a little Nigel. 😉
markira’s last blog post..Kids and Carts
March 13th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
The more I watch bad TV, the less I watch TV in general. It just get worse over time. However, I have watched some of the same shows you mention, not to mention, Wife Swap, The Apprentice, American Idol and Dancing With The Stars. But for nerdiness, I have to admit that the ORIGINAL Star Trek (with Kirk and Crew) has some sort of endearing quality. Especially if you can catch it on HDTV in restored versions. It was shot on film and the quality is really astounding. You never got to see this on the old standard televisions. They used a lot of bright primary colors. While the show is campy in some ways, it grows on you over time. It is almost the Shakespeare of our age. The plots are really well written and the acting is pretty entertaining.
Bruce’s last blog post..The Dip-Shit – Lesson #8
March 13th, 2008 at 7:06 pm
Bruce — I just watched Wife Swap last night and I was horrified. I could only take about 15 minutes of it. It’s incredible to me what can get on TV! I’m sure you’re not alone with Star Trek. I don’t see it on much, but I can definitely see getting sucked into it, esp. in HD. We have an HD set and some shows from years ago hold up well with it. Like watching a new show all over again in some ways.
March 17th, 2008 at 9:56 am
OK..can you say “Are you smarter than a 5th grader?” I watch and am NOT smarter than a 5th grader.
Saved by the Bell…gotta LOVE Zack and Kelly!
March 17th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
Alice — I don’t watch it because I know I’ll feel dumber than a 5th grader. Saved by the Bell — now that’s a good one!
March 22nd, 2008 at 9:53 pm
Three’s Company tops my list! Here’s the rest:
Andy Griffith Show
I Love Lucy
Happy Days
The Flintstones (I LOVE this cartoon!)
And I also watch the Brady Bunch.
Gotta love those old shows!
Judy’s last blog post..What A Mess We Have
March 23rd, 2008 at 5:46 am
Judy — I miss Happy Days. I can’t find it anywhere now, but I know it used to run on TV Land for a while. Maybe I’m just not looking hard enough. Like most 12-yr-old girls, I was in love with Fonzie! The old shows are classics. The fact that they’re still running some of them regularly is a testament to their excellence. “Marsha, Marsha, Marsha!” Doesn’t get any better than that.
March 30th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
My t.v. recently broke, and I’m currently in mourning. 🙁 This post however has brought back great memories.
Here’s my list:
The Brady Bunch-yeah I love it, It took me years to finally see the episode with Davy Jones.
The Monkees: totally stupid show I know, but it cracks me up.
Everybody Loves Raymond: I don’t know why I love this dysfunctional family so much, but for some reason I’m addicted to it, even though it’s irritating at times.
There are so many others I know, but for some reason, their names escape me at the moment. Maybe it’s some form of repression…
March 30th, 2008 at 5:03 pm
michele — My brothers loved to watch The Monkees and I hated it! Could never see the humor in it. Yes! Totally stupid, but that’s what makes a guilty pleasure, eh? I used to love ELR, but then they made the Debra character have PMS every episode and it wore me down. Shame, it was so good in the beginning.
April 4th, 2008 at 8:26 am
HAHAHA!! I remember Supermarket Sweep, we used to watch that all the time.
Sadly I cannot get enough of Beauty and the Geek.
Married Leos’s last blog post..A part of me died last night…….
April 4th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
Married Leos — Supermarket Sweep was truly awful. I cannot believe I taped it and watched it 5 days a week!!!
April 4th, 2008 at 4:58 pm
That is hard core guilty pleasure ( shaking head )
Married Leos’s last blog post..Good Morning Sunshine
June 11th, 2008 at 2:53 am
Brady Bunch and the price is right xD come on now thats just legendary.
July 24th, 2008 at 11:23 pm
@Don – Yes, I have to admit that I enjoy watching Ghost Hunters. Every week I tell myself that I won’t watch it, and every week I end up watching the show all night.
Charles’s last blog post..Lookup Cell Phone Number Free
July 25th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
Married Leos — Sorry for my delay in responding! The Supermarket Sweep is what makes the list so pathetic. I cannot believe I admitted that.
In Plain Sight Episodes — It’s almost like it’s required viewing. Longevity’s gotta stand for something, right?
Charles — See, I don’t know what it is about that show. My husband will watch every last minute of it, and I just roll my eyes. I guess that’s the definition of a guilty pleasure; when someone else thinks you have a problem. Thanks for dropping by.
May 29th, 2009 at 8:30 am
I have been watching the braces episode of the Brady Bunch about seven times a day with my four year old son. We have the first season on DVD, and he gets hooked on particular ones. Last month it was ‘A camping we will go.’
He keeps asking why that girl is crying and why she doesn’t like her spaghetti. He keeps making me rewind the part where Alan Anthony breaks off the dance, and Marsha runs up the stairs in a fit. At four, he relates to hysterical fits.
I used to watch Supermarket Sweep after school with my grandmother. The suspense was terrible!
May 31st, 2009 at 5:57 am
misspiggytoes — Oh, my dear. Are you OK? Even I can’t take seven of the same episode every day! Is the “A camping we will go” the one that involves Peter getting punished for something (I forget what)? Or is it the early one where the girls all go camping with the Mom and hilarity ensues? I remember the braces one perfectly.
May 31st, 2009 at 11:26 am
The camping episode is the early one that Marcia talks about in her tell all book. The tension between Greg and her is quite palpable. Yes, with kids it is all about rewinding and, “Let me see that part again.”