Guilty Pleasures

[alice_in_wonderland]

Ok, I have to admit this to someone. And I may as well do it here.

I love Pros vs. Joes. I LOVE it. I love watching the Joes get their butts kicked, and then I love it when one of the pros gets beaten by a Joe.

I am totally addicted. I put down books to watch this.

So - what's your guilty viewing pleasure?

[Stranger On A Train]

Okay, I have no idea what "Pros vs. Joes" is, but I'm guessing it's some kind of home improvement vid which pits experts against amateurs. A friend of mine has a plan for a show called "<name> Can!". It's inspired by Rachael Ray's "$40 A Day" thing, only she tackles home improvement type jobs with no off-camera preparation and no idea of whether she'll succeed or not. I'm supposed to have a walk-on role as the guy she calls when she runs into trouble or something. I think this sounds like a bad idea, but then I've found that people will watch pretty much anything and if they'll pay me and blank out my face, who am I to pass up easy money?

I guess my guilty pleasure, such as it is, is Veronica Mars. I got the Season One DVD set because it was recommended by a couple of people and because it was dirt cheap from Amazon.com. It's really way below my age level, and I feel kind of dirty every time I look at Kristen Bell and think, "Yeah, she's kind of cute for a blonde teenybo...dude, what the hell, she's half my age!" but she really is a very good actress (or maybe just so much better in comparison to most of the rest of the cast), and while the show has some very predictable plot twists and is pretty fake regarding high school and so forth, it does have a certain level of darkness that I enjoy. I was hoping for more of a Brick (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0393109/)-type of style from it, but then that's like expecting David Lynch to write and direct a series for television that doesn't cop out and spiral into inanity.

So, I'm apologetic, but still kind of like it. If I find them cheap, I might get the second season DVDs. It's not like I'm chucking my non-existent social life to stay home and watch it in a marathon session, though. Does this count? It seems like a pretty weak guilty pleasure to me, but then I'm getting kind of punch after hour 13 at work, so maybe I should just shut up now before I embarass myself further.

Stranger

[brianjedi]

I'd like to know what possessed them to put rank amateurs in the Octagon with The Natural, or up against Jose "Roid Rage" Canseco in a home run contest.

[LifeOnWry]

I'm not a big TV watcher, but I live with a few, and my brother has gotten me a bit hooked on "It Takes A Thief." I don't turn it on myself, but when I wander in while he's watching it, I end up standing there for the duration, marveling at how little time it takes a professional thief to walk away with a lifetime's worth of stuff.

[alice_in_wonderland]

Pros vs. Joes is (former) professional athletes vs. average Joe couch potato sport watcher.

They mix it up with the pros having female vollyball players, baseballers, tonight there's a UFC guy.

It's great because guys always sit around talking about how they could have made the big time if they'd just had a chance/not threw out their shoulder/slept with the coach. This gives them an opportunity to put their money where their mouth is. I love it.

You should totally do the show - you'll be a STAR!! And you'll be beating the honeys off with a stick - every girl likes a guy who's handy...

[alice_in_wonderland]

I'd like to know what possessed them to put rank amateurs in the Octagon with The Natural

Yah, that was insane. The Army guy did ok, but it was painful to watch.

[Gatopescado]

Monster Jam.

I justify it by saying its for my kid. (even he walks out half way thru) :rolleyes:

[olivesmarch4th]

Oh, I was waiting for the opportunity to get this off my chest.

I love "America's Next Top Model." I don't mean I find it entertaining... I mean I find it inspiring and uplifting (for the record, I have 0 modeling aspirations and am one of the most low-maintenance people on the planet.) For some reason this show that is supposed to make all women feel like ugly cows makes me feel like one of the most gorgeous human beings on the planet. I can't explain it. If you knew me, you'd be scratching your head. Most people who know me, who hear that I love this show, think I'm on crack. I guess the way I see it is, you get the opportunity to watch people try to achieve their dreams... and consistently, without fail, the thing that knocks them down or leads them to success is their own attitude. It's a study in human psychology, and how people succeed or fail at reaching their goals.

Ok, I'll stop trying to justify it now.

*slinks away in shame*

[alice_in_wonderland]

I love "America's Next Top Model."

Actually I love this one too. Not because it's uplifting but because it's bitchy, catty womenness at it's very best. And I think Tyra Banks is fantastic. Yes, I know lots of people find her annoying, but I think she's lovely and funny and she trys so hard to be ernest. I love it.

[Loach]

I love Overhaulin' (http://www.overhaulin.com/home.asp) . I am in no way a gearhead. I don't even change my own oil but I can't get enough of this show. Chip Foose is a genius. I even get choked up during the reveal.

[Autumn Almanac]

Charmed, America's Next Top Model, and everything on VH1.

[h.sapiens]

Project Runway. The contestants are a bunch of drama queens, and the designs they come up with are frequently hideous, but I can't help myself. I love Tim Gunn, and I wish he was my big brother. Carry on!

[nashiitashii]

I've got a few guilty pleasures when it comes to tv...
Project Runway: Tim Gunn adds a lot as a mentor figure, and the drama is copious. Then, there are the designers who go back and forth from brilliant design to the tackiest outfit ever made.
Wife Swap/Trading Spouses: It's all about the drama. I generally tend toward one side, but remain slightly in the middle. How'd I get hooked on these awful shows? That one episode with the "God Warrior" woman is what got me started.
Supernanny: It's also all about the drama. Additionally, it's a fairly effective method of birth control, and gives me somewhat practical tips in the case of dealing with other people's children. I rarely watch it (or Wife Swap) anymore, but that's mostly because I've grown out of the need to have that much dramatic stimulation.
I'll occasionally supplement the reality tv silliness with cartoons, but that's also a fading interest.

[xizor]

The (White) Rapper Show on VH1. A reality show where they are picking a white rapper. Yes, it is as bad as it sounds. Yes, even the producers know it sucks and they don't care. Yes, I know all this and can't stop watching it anyway.

[you with the face]

I have a guilty pleasure that is so atrocious that no one else can beat it. It's so bad that a few times I've contemplated starting threads about this show but chickened out because I didn't want anyone to think poorly of me.

Four words. I Love New York. I think it's the funniest show in the whole world.

::sits down and bawls her eyes out like Pootie::

[t-mobileguy]

I’m so glad this came up. I have to get it off my chest. I watch Noggin with my kids specifically so I can catch Laurie Berkner. I’ll watch 10 hours ooby and Dora and that stupid moose and bird just so I can think of things I want to do under a shady tree.


I feel so dirty

[El Perro Fumando]

Add me to the Project Runway camp.

And I'll throw Beauty and the Geek into the mix.

[Antinor01]

Nanny 911 and Trading Spouses.

Especially the recent trading spouses with the return of the God Warrior. I couldn't help but feel bad watching how horribly the guy treated her, but also felt guilty that I was inwardly cheering because I felt she had it coming after her first time.

[Rebecca DiMwitter]

Those E! channel Top 100 "Celebrity" (whatevers). Latest one was the "Feuds". I don't want to care. I won't remember most of it 5 minutes after the show's over. But I am riveted while they are on.

Must be senile dementia setting in...

[Tangent]

Project Runway for me, too. I'm a straight guy who knows nothing about fashion and doesn't care to learn more. Reality shows always suck me in, though, and the lovely Heidi Klum is a pretty good excuse for watching.

Another Bravo show and guilty pleasure is Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-list. Before watching this series, I never thought much of her as a comedian and I found her kind of irritating. But I gained an appreciation for her after watching a few episodes and seeing how hard she works and imagining how difficult it must be to be funny. And she is funny.


I swear I'm not gay! :D

[bumfuzzled]

Add me to the Project Runway list. My idea of high fashion is a comfy, worn-out pair of jeans and a T-shirt, but I never miss an episode. I think a big part of it is my undying affection for Tim Gunn. And why I ordinarily wouldn't give a rat's ass about a supermodel, for some reason I can't help but like Heidi Klum.

I'm not sure if this one is something to be ashamed of or not, but it's something I keep under my hat. I adore Good Eats on the Food Network. I'll never make 90 percent of the stuff Alton Brown cooks on the show [I'm a take-out kinda girl] but I find the geeky scientific explanations of why you should use peanut oil for fried foods fascinating. I also love the low-budget look of the show with the cheesy costumes and silly props. And the theme song! I've actually caught myself humming it in public. Oh well, once a dork always a dork I guess.

[Gangster Octopus]

Myguilty pleasure is not a TV show it is a food. It is the tacos at Jack in the Box. They are deep fried tacos that are so greasy that you can actually see throught the corn shell to the meat inside. And damn if they are not tasty.

[kaylasdad99]

A cantaloupe that's been warmed in the microwave for a minute...


WAIT!!!

[Sofaspud]

I'm not sure if this one is something to be ashamed of or not, but it's something I keep under my hat. I adore Good Eats on the Food Network. I'll never make 90 percent of the stuff Alton Brown cooks on the show [I'm a take-out kinda girl] but I find the geeky scientific explanations of why you should use peanut oil for fried foods fascinating. I also love the low-budget look of the show with the cheesy costumes and silly props. And the theme song! I've actually caught myself humming it in public. Oh well, once a dork always a dork I guess.

Alton Brown is my personal hero. Good Eats trumps anything on TV, for me. If you're a dork, I am too. :)

I made his meatball recipe the other night and it worked just like on the show. Beautiful. Next I'm gonna try the gyro meat.

Go Alton!

[Tangent]

A cantaloupe that's been warmed in the microwave for a minute...


WAIT!!!


My first true LOL moment of the week. Thanks for that, kaylasdad99!

[pizzabrat]

I was all prepared for "Gay, Straight, or Taken" to be my guilty pleasure this season, but even that couldn't hold my interest after a couple episodes.
So my guiltiest pleasure so far is "The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency". I started watching because it had male models, but I'm now surprised to find that Janice Dickinson's personality is winning me over so hard. Plus I got caught up in that cliffhanger involving Instinct and whether the model would out himself by appearing on its cover. The clever editors were able to use the same cliffhanger to end two different hour long episodes, damn them. We finally found out the outcome this past Wednesday:

He decided to do it. And he was really, really closeted before this came up. BTW, the model was JP from last season's Survivor (Cook Islands)

[MaxTheVool]

I guess my guilty pleasure, such as it is, is Veronica Mars.

That's a guilty pleasure? What are your non-guilty pleasures, Proust (in the original French) and glass-blowing?

Veronica Mars is just plain damn good TV.

[Lucky 13]

A short list:

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
The Osbournes
Spongebob Squarepants
Visiting with Huell Howser

[Stranger On A Train]

That's a guilty pleasure? What are your non-guilty pleasures, Proust (in the original French) and glass-blowing?

Veronica Mars is just plain damn good TV.For someone who's 35? I feel like the Neighborhood Watch is peeking in my windows and looking for signs of child porn every time I watch it.

And glass blowing totally rocks.

Stranger

[nashiitashii]

Nanny 911 and Trading Spouses.

Especially the recent trading spouses with the return of the God Warrior. I couldn't help but feel bad watching how horribly the guy treated her, but also felt guilty that I was inwardly cheering because I felt she had it coming after her first time.

What? Do you think they'll rerun it? The God Warrior is the craziest person I've ever seen on reality tv that wasn't trying to date Flava Flav (or that godawful New York) on VH1.

[you with the face]

So I'm the only Doper who watches I Love NY?

Won't someone else confess to this shame?

[MaxTheVool]

For someone who's 35? I feel like the Neighborhood Watch is peeking in my windows and looking for signs of child porn every time I watch it.


I'm 33 and feel no guilt about watching it and Buffy.

Now, Bring It On... that probably qualifies as a guilty pleasure.

[bumfuzzled]

Alton Brown is my personal hero. Good Eats trumps anything on TV, for me. If you're a dork, I am too.

I made his meatball recipe the other night and it worked just like on the show. Beautiful. Next I'm gonna try the gyro meat.

Go Alton!


Thanks Sofaspud. It's nice to know I'm not alone.

Oh! I just thought of another one, Men in Trees

[pbbth]

Wife Swap and Super Nanny are my guilty TV pleasures. I am single with no kids but I think it is fantastic that these people put it all on the line to learn something about themselves and improve their lives.

[Morbo]

::risking my SDMB street cred::

(Imagine I'm confessing on the stand like an old Perry Mason episode)

OK!! I admit it!! I like watching World's Wildest Police Chases!!! I love the guy's voiceovers!! ("He though he could dance with the Police. Now his dance card will be full...IN JAIL!!!") I love the rubbernecking vibe from watching the car accidents!! I love the spin-out maneuver!! I love the CB chatter as they coordinate! ::weeps::

[Savannah]

TV: American Idol and America's Funniest Videos.

Food: Quarter-pounder-with-cheese-large-fries. And a diet coke. Potato chips. And some more potato chips. Chocolate brownies, really good ones. Chocolate, in general.

Books: Stephen King. I'll give anything he writes a chance, even if I end up disappointed. Anne Rivers Siddons. Erotica.

Music: Well, if no one's around, some stuff is pretty embarrassing, but enjoyable... And I still love Linda Ronstadt and won't apologise.

[kalex]

I can actually go a step down from Pros vs Joes - my friends and I have a standing Thursday night date to watch the Ultimate Fighting Championships on Spike TV. (I add that I am an over 40 female, probably not Spike's go-to demo!) They have stuff like submissive grappling and the north-south position. I'm just saying.

I love America's Next Top Model. All the girls that were bitchy to me in high school, ragging on each other. But the tiny orange man has Got To Go.

We watched that Grease casting show the other night. Tragic.

[Quiddity Glomfuster]

I'm typing between commercials on my guilty pleasure: Keys to the VIP (http://www.thecomedynetwork.ca/servlet/an/comedy/2/20060724/TCN_Show_KVIP) . Two guys are given 'challenges' (think reality show 'challenges') to carry out at a club while four play-by-play analysts watch and comment on their games.

For instance 'in round three, each player has to obtain a woman's phone number while his opponent tries to sabotage his game'. The commentators come up with stuff like 'you have to calibrate the woman that's attainable' :D

It's a total hoot.

[Cat Whisperer]

Music - Justin Timberlake. Listening to "Senorita" as I type this. I just...like his music. Frankly, I love a whole lot of pop music, and I don't care who knows it.

Food - Anything in a pastry shell. Sweet, savoury, I love it all. I KNOW how much fat is in pastry crusts - I just love them soooooo much.

TV - "Beauty and the Geek." I have on occasion watched a little of "Flavor of Love," but that was mostly for the trainwreck appeal ("What the hell are these surreal people doing NOW?!") We are quite enjoying the auditions stage of "American Idol," too.

My husband watches "What Not To Wear" more than I do.

[pbbth]

I am a showtune whore. I listen to Broadway soundtracks and sing along in the car.

Also, I own all the available seasons of Roseanne on DVD. I can't help that I love that show.

[Indygrrl]

I like soap operas, mostly As the World Turns and Guiding Light. And the acting doesn't always seem that bad to me. I cried the other day when they killed off one of my favorite characters on GL.

I blame being home during the day for this. :D

[Starving Artist]

I like soap operas, mostly As the World Turns and Guiding Light. And the acting doesn't always seem that bad to me. I cried the other day when they killed off one of my favorite characters on GL.

I blame being home during the day for this. :DAnd well you should! :D

[myskepticsight]

I love Project Runway and The Girls Next Door. Also Real Housewives of Orange County and I think I'm gonna start watching that new show on Bravo, Top Design or whatever about interior decorator/designers. I love to say I hate reality TV but mainly I just hate reality TV game shows (like Survivor, Big Brother), though I love a lot of the ones more like Project Runway which require actual skill and ones that are "real life." Oh yeah, True Life on MTV too. Gah. At least I'm 20 and most people my age watch shittier shows (Laguna Beach etc).

I'm also an indie-rock kinda gal, but I love me some Justin Timberlake, Rihanna and Nelly Furtado. My friends played them all summer and I got hooked. Gets me in a party mood. And stuff like Goldfrapp and Fischerspooner are fun too, but not my usual style.

[kaylasdad99]

I dunno. I've got a guy in my call center, sits right behind me, every afternoon, he's got his little portable TV in his lap, tuned to General Hospital. No being at home necessary.

So who got kilt on Guiding Light?