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?
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-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
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.
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.
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…
Yah, that was insane. The Army guy did ok, but it was painful to watch.
Monster Jam.
I justify it by saying its for my kid. (even he walks out half way thru) :rolleyes:
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
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.
I love Overhaulin’ . 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.
Charmed, America’s Next Top Model, and everything on VH1.
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!
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.
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.
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::
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
Add me to the Project Runway camp.
And I’ll throw Beauty and the Geek into the mix.
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.
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…
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! 