My Guilty Pleasure

Last week, Grad School Reject asked us about our guilty pleasures. I didn't comment because no one guilty pleasure came to mind (I actually think I have several!)

But clearly, reality TV, is near the top of my list.

Yes, that's right. I'm a reality TV fan. Amateur talent shows? (American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance, Dancing with the Stars...) Love 'em! Social experiments? (Big Brother) Awesome. Challenge shows? (The Apprentice) Keeps me curious.

Yeah, yeah, I know. Uninspired. Unintelligent. Unoriginal.

Too bad! I enjoy them for different reasons. As a former performer, I love the talent shows because I've always felt I was skilled at recognizing talent. The social experiments interest me because I'm very interested in the dynamics of interpersonal relationships.

And the Apprentice?

Because I know I could kick their asses! I like the challenges in business and this show is kind of like "flexing my muscles" a bit as I watch.

It's a good thing that reality shows weren't popular during my acting days in my 20's. I would have been all over it! (And I'm sure it's for the best that I didn't do that! While I love attention- I don't have a thick enough skin for the embarrassment or humiliation that often occurs.)

MTV's Real World came out one year after some actor friends and I developed our own "reality show" called "501 Blues". (Named after our address: 501 W 47 St in NYC, and the name of a popular blue jean at the time...) It wasn't a reality show technically...what we did was tape record conversations and situations that we were in, then wrote a script based on those real-life conversations.

But the concept was similar. In typical self-absorbed young actress fashion, we determined that our lives, our thoughts, our experiences, were interesting enough to entertain someone! I guess that's what goes through the minds of all those people that audition for the endless number of reality shows. And some of them are right. And I thank them for the distraction and mindless entertainment. Bring it on!