Flipping channels, I lighted on "I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here" for just a moment. The challenge: Eating nasty stuff. In a Venus vs. Mars style challenge, Torri Wilson and one of the Baldwin Brothers (really, I can't tell them apart) were eating three small squares of raw tripe. Not only did they have to eat it, tripe was described to them in no uncertain terms before they popped it in their mouths.
Torri Wilson said, "I just wish they would stop describing it to me, I just tried to pretend it was some kind of delicatessen."
She meant "delicacy" and misspoke. Whoops. Yes, I laughed, but I'm not so proud of that.
Why does Fox have to show us the opening rounds of American Idol? When the judges see someone we who watch on TV know one thing--the singer is either going to be great or they are going to be a disaster.
But you know what, these people come in to audition with high hopes and everyone is either confident or deluded enough to think they have a shot. We swoon over the confident and laugh at the deluded--at their expense.
The worst part is that everyone who is called in to the panel of judges thinks they are the best--they think they have a shot and are excited to show off. But for our amusement their dreams are shot down.
Can't we make TV a no-fly zone? American Idol, So You Think You've Got Talent, So You Think You Can Dance, all of you talent shows; please, let's quit setting people up to get crushed for my entertainment.
One other note: This doesn't apply to "America's Funniest Home Videos" because these folks send in the videos themselves. They're willing to put their pain and embarrassment on TV for a shot at up to $100,000.00. When you do this to yourself, I think you give me permission to laugh.
I start out every day with high hopes, auditioning for the world. I am confident (or perhaps deluded) that I "have a shot" whatever that shot might be--even though I am (somewhat) sure that it won't be $100,000. God bless us, Everyone.
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