Matthew Osborne
I hate watching commercials. I mean, we’ve all seen the Burger King one, though, right?
In addition to learning what rhymes with Whopper in the most annoying fashion possible, that commercial is now the new “Rick Roll,” where people tack the commercial onto the end of seemingly relevant videos.
I never really got the Rick Roll thing – for those who don’t know, it involves a video of Rick Astley singing “Never Gonna Give You Up” at random, sometimes inappropriate times – but this Whopper thing is much worse.
So I try to avoid commercials whenever possible, but I caught one the other night on USA Network offering new episodes of “Chrisley Knows Best.”
Wait, what? I thought they went to prison.
And so they did, but evidently they shot some episodes that they didn’t want to waste.
But this feels a bit disingenuous, no? A show about a family living a devil-may-care lifestyle on money they stole from everyone else is kind of a low point, even for American entertainment.
At least you have to give it to the “Real Housewives of New Jersey,” whose producers addressed head on the fact that two of their main characters went to federal prison for very similar charges as the Chrisleys – falsifying documents to steal millions and live a lavish lifestyle they could not afford.
We can spend all day picking apart “reality” shows and how much they actually depict anything resembling reality, but in the case of the RHONJ, they addressed it for real. They showed what effect their parents going to prison had on the children of Joe and Teresa Guidice, and that you can at least sympathize with.
Of course, they still live in a huge house that they somehow hung onto, and they are still able to make more money off their name, but the children are still affected, and that is the only part that is actual reality.
I remember vividly when the Giudices were first indicted. I was the editor in Trenton, N.J., and my reporter came in after his routine check of the federal court releases.
“Apparently there are some TV stars in trouble,” he said. “Who are these Gi-dices? Gwydiches? I can’t say it.”
“I’ve got this one,” I proudly said, knowing exactly who we were dealing with, being a longtime addict of the show.
Yes, I watch the Real Housewives of New Jersey. New York, too, although they are getting a new cast so we will see if it is as good.
I also watched “Real Housewives: Girls Trip,” which I dubbed Real Housewives Avengers since it brought together characters from New York, New Jersey, Beverly Hills and Atlanta.
But that really is the most important thing to remember when watching “reality” television. They are characters playing themselves, and there is no doubt they let the networks direct what goes on in their lives.
It is hard to believe anyone would want a camera crew following them everywhere they go. Perhaps it is equally hard to believe anyone would want to watch it, but here we are.
Sometimes your brain just needs to watch something you don’t have to think too hard about.
Matthew Osborne is the editor of The Northeast Georgian. Reach him at 706-778-4215 or editor@TheNortheastGeorgian.com.